When The Cold Wind Blows
by Pikacheeks
Summary: Clementine learns that the only thing scarier than zombies are romantic feelings. I mean, at least you can smash a zombie's head in and your problem is solved. Older!ClemxLuke Spoilers, Spoilers Everywhere! Rated T for Language and Mildly Sexual Situations
1. Holy Shit, I'm Alive

**A/N: **This is my first TWDG fic, so be gentle? This features an older!Clem (about 18 years old), and in this universe, she was about 15 when the apocalypse started. I've also altered the dialog and took out a few, minor things, I hope no one is bothered by it. Anyways, have fun and enjoy.

The small fire hisses, crackles, and pops as Christa tends to it. The small weasel we had caught is kind of cooking on a ragtag spit we made over the fire, but it was nowhere near done.

My stomach growls loudly and I cover it with my arms, leaning over and exhaling loudly. "Christa, I'm so hungry." I whine.

Christa looks up at me, unamused. "You should be doing this, Clementine, not me. Catching game, tending a fire... These are things you need to know how to do. If you don't..." Her voice trails off leaving the last word unsaid.

If I don't want to die, I think morbidly. If I don't want to end up like Carly, and Duck, and Katjaa, and Ben, and Kenny, and Omid and Lee. My heart twists when I think about Lee. The man who risked his life to save me every day since the start of the apocalypse. The man who died because I was stupid enough to think my parents could still be alive. The man who was bitten and told me to shoot him.

"I miss Lee," I sadly admit. Christa looks up at me, pity evident in her eyes. "I'm sure you do." I miss Lee like she misses Omid, and maybe to a greater extent, her lost child. My eyes flicker to her now-flat stomach and an even deeper sadness threatens to pull me in.

She stands up suddenly. "I'm going to go look for more firewood. Would you mind looking for something around here to keep the flame going? I won't be gone for long." I nod and she leaves. I stand up and go to my backpack. I rummage around, looking for my Zippo. My fingers touch the torn edge of a picture. I let out a deep breath and pull it out. It's the picture of Lee that we took from the pharmacy back in the beginning. I put it back in my pack and grab my lighter. I circle the fire, spotting a small log. I set it aflame and add it to the fire.

"I told you, I'm all alone! I don't have a group!" I hear Christa's voice yell. I jump up and run in the direction of her voice. I spot her between some trees, being attacked by a gaggle of men. I pick up a nearby rock and throw it at one of the men. "Christa, run!" I scream, making my escape as well. One of the men is chasing after me. I hide behind a tree and try to make a silent escape when he spots me.

"You little bitch!" He yells. He follows me to an end of the forest, only a few feet away from a deep river. He picks me up and groans, hot in my ear, "Hm, you're really pretty. It's a damn fucking shame that I'm gonna have to kill you." He rubs his thumbs across my lips. I open my mouth and bite down as hard as I possibly can. Blood, hot and thick, splurts into my mouth as he tosses me on the ground. I hear a walker approach from behind the man. I push him back and into the walkers arms. Before I can blink, the walker has bitten into the man.

A small snapping of twigs catches my attention. I look around and notice that a small gang of walkers has surrounded me. My pulse quickens and fear makes my body its home. I try to run past one walker, only to turn into another, and another, and another. The world starts to spin around me. I step back and I lose my footing, falling into the river. My head is knocked harshly onto one of the large rock. I can faintly feel the cold touch of death as my vision goes black.

To my surprise, I wake up.

_ Holy shit_, I think, _I'm alive_.

I stand up quickly, causing my head to throb. I make my way to... Well, I'm not exactly sure where, I realize. The riverbank that I washed up on was an obvious dead end, so I headed into the nearby forest. There was a man-made trail heading deeper into the lush green earth. I warily follow the trail, making sure that I was taking everything in, the sights and sounds, so that I couldn't be taken by surprise. However, a low growl managed to catch me off guard. Behind a big bush, there stood a dog, scrawny and yellow. I read the tag on his collar.

"Where are your owners, Sam?" I ask. Hopefully, not nearby. The dog growls, but doesn't do much else. Whatever, I could use an attack dog if someone tries to attack me. I continue onto the trail, Sam following closely behind, growling at this and that.

We come upon an abandoned campground. There were two tents, both were badly torn apart, a large white van, a barbecue pit, and a metal trash barrel. I walk over to the barbecue, hoping to find some food. But there was nothing. My stomach growls louder than I sigh, which is pretty damn loud. I hear Sam barking and I walk over to investigate, or at least shut him up. The sound would no doubt attract walkers. He is barking at a mostly dead walker that was tied up to a tree. My eyes, however, land upon a perfectly useful knife that sticks out of the walker's shoulder. I reach for it, but the walker almost gets me. Sam's barking intensifies.

"Shh," I hush Sam, "It's okay. He can't reach us. Plus, we're smarter than them. We're smarter than all of them." I look around and grab a decent sized chunk of wood. I bash it repeatedly into the walkers head, blood and brains splattering everywhere, until he is no longer alive. I pull the knife out and clean it on my shirt, grateful that at least some good came out of this venture.

I go back to scavenging the campsite, examining the trash. I notice something... _Could it be_..? I reach my hand in and pull it out. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" I cry out. It was a can of beans. Hey, food is food.

I sit down and stab the can with my brand new knife several times until it can be pried open. Oh, thank God, the beans were still good. I was so happy, I could almost cry. I stick my fingers in the can, scoop some beans onto my fingers, and shove them in my mouth. After eating a few fingerfuls of beans, I hear Sam begin to whine.

"Oh, you poor thing. You're probably hungry to, huh?" I go to dump some beans out for him, but Sam taking the entire can and begins to wolf the rest of the food down. "Hey!" I cry out, "Don't eat it all!"

I go to take the can back, but he chomps down onto my arm and, holy shit, does it hurt. I cry out in pain and he shakes his head, digging his canines deeper into my arm. I punch him with my right arm, repeatedly, but he doesn't let go. I grab a nearby rock and hit him with it. He finally lets go, but he immediately lunges at me. I lift my legs and kick him as hard as I can, and he flies backwards, over the log I was sitting on, and a sickening piercing sound fills my ears. I stand and go to check on the furry traitor. I gasp when I see him.

His body has been pierced in several places by the tent poles that held up one of the tents. He was whining, his legs moving, as though he were trying to escape, but I think even he knew his efforts were futile. I grip my knife and lean down. I could't be mad at him, the poor thing. He was just hungry, running on pure animal instinct. The least I could do was put him out of his misery. "Sorry." I whisper, before putting Sam down. I walk away, the campsite held nothing else for me.

I made my way deeper and deeper into the forest. My arm began to throb and I began to feel dizzy. My vision began to blur and I couldn't walk for much longer. I sat down behind a tree, hoping that I wouldn't be found by a walker. But you can't avoid the inevitable. I hear the groan of a walker nearby and push myself off of the tree. I move as quickly as I can forward, but I can feel the walker behind me. I fall down and he topples on top of me. I grab his arms and try to keep him away from me. My struggle seemed like it was hopeless.

Then, I hear a gunshot, and the walker falls on me, completely lifeless. Another walker hobbles towards me, but this one is shot with an arrow. A man scoops me up into his arms and begins to run.

"C'mon, Pete." I look over and notice that I have two saviors. An older man with white hair, I guess, Pete, and... I look at the man holding me.

_Oh wow_... My heart flutters and I quickly scold myself. The guy holding me was just so good looking. He had lush brown hair and big brown eyes, but he was also rugged. "Are you okay?" He asks me.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Pete asks, "You didn't seem okay back there. You damn near got eaten."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just-" I wince when my savior grips me tighter, my bite wound from Sam sending waves of pain throughout my body.

"Are you o- Oh, fuck!" My savior looks down and harshly drops me, I land hard on my ass. "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, man!" He says, "She's been bitten!"

"What? No, I haven't!" I cry out, "It was a dog!"

Pete kneels down next to me. "We didn't see no dog out there, miss."

"Clementine," I reply, "My name is Clementine. And there was a dog, I swear."

"Mhm," The other guy says, "And what happened to this dog?" A hint of annoyance in his voice.

I narrow my eyes at him. "I killed him."

His eyes widened, "You _killed_ him?! Why would you do that? You don't just kill a dog!"

"Luke, calm down." Pete orders.

Luke frowns, "You don't just kill a dog, man."

Pete turns his attention to me. "Clementine," He began, "Look at me in my eyes and tell me that there was a dog there."

I look at him, staring straight into his eyes. "There was a dog."

Pete nods, "That's good enough for me."

Luke looks at Pete incredulously. "Seriously? You believe her?"

"Luke, I have a pretty damn good bullshit detector. That's why you can never beat me at poker." Pete grins, "Besides, I'm not about to let this young lady die out here when we have a doctor that can help her out."

Luke rolls his eyes. "Fine, but I'm not carrying her."

I push myself off the ground, trying to keep myself up and steady. "Don't worry about it." I say, but I lose my standing, my vision blurring, and before I knew it, I had hit the ground once more.

*** End of Chapter One ***

_Thank you for reading, don't forget to review! (: _


	2. This Is Gonna Suck

**A/N: **This next chapter is pretty much the end of the introductions. Just bear with me until the next chapter?

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"Why the fuck would you bring her here?"

She's been bitten!"

"Calm down, we don't know that for sure yet!"

"What the fuck are you talking about, the proof is right there on her fucking arm!"

"She said it was from a dog!"

"Of course she did, you fucking idiots!"

"She could be working for Carver!"

"Put her out of her misery, Nick!"

My eyes barely flutter open when I hear a loud gunshot. I stumble backwards and look at my leg, the ground next to it was smoking. _What the fuck_?

"Give me that gun, boy!" Pete growls at some dark-haired guy in a baseball cap.

"I-it was an accident, I didn't mean for it to go off!" He stuttered.

I couldn't process anything that was going on. I just blurt out, "I'm not working for anyone!" I look around frantically. Huddled in a semi-circle around me was Pete, Luke, the guy that almost shot me, a larger black guy, and a kind of pretty, pregnant lady. They look like they were at each other's throats. Behind them was a decent-sized cabin.

My arm begun to throb. I hissed and clutched it. "I was attacked by a dog. Please, I need help."

The pregnant lady sneers at me. "That don't look like no dog bite to me."

"I'm telling the truth!" I cry out.

"We'll just see what the doctor says, okay?" Luke says. As if on cue, a door to the cabin opens and a man wearing a red plaid shirt walks over to us. He kneels down in front of me and gently grabs my arm. He applies pressure and I hiss again.

"Whaddya think?" Luke asks, "Is it a Lurker bite or..?"

"It's hard to tell for sure," the doctor replies. He has a slight Spanish accent. "Let's keep her in the shed for the night. We'll be able to tell if it's a Lurker bite by morning." He stands up and steps back.

"What? In a shed?" I ask, "No, I need to be stitched and bandaged! It could become infected." I'm pleading for my life.

"We are not going to waste supplies on a possible Lurker bite." Carlos states. He heads back inside, followed by the pregnant lady and the back guy, who I assume is her husband, by the way he dotes along behind her.

Pete gives me a sad look. "Sorry, kiddo. I wish there was something I could do." I look at him with wide, watery eyes and he put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll pull through." He hands the shotgun to the guy in the baseball cap and heads inside with the others. Leaving me alone with Luke and Mister-No-Aim.

"C'mon, Nick," Luke calls, "Let's escort Clementine to the shed." The guy in the cap looks up and nods, leading us to a shed, next to the cabin.

I break the silence between me and Luke. "It's a dog bite, you'll see."

"I hope it is, Clementine. I'd hate to have to put you down." He kind of laughs.

I bite my lip. "You don't think you can get me something... Just to keep it from getting infected?"

Luke sighs. "I would if I could, Clementine, but it's too risky."

"Thanks for nothing then." I murmur.

"Here we are." Nick announces. "I'll be right out here, in case you decide to bail."

"Or in case I decide to turn?" I retort.

Nick nods and I fight the urge to swear at him. Luke closes the shed door behind me. I can hear the muffled sounds of them talking, the crunch of leaves as Luke walks away, then silence.

I look for a way to escape._ No fucking way I'm waiting in here until morning_. There are a few tools, but nothing particularly useful, except a hammer. In the back corner of the shed, I notice that there's a plank of wood nailed to the wall. I use the hammer to pry the nails holding it up off, revealing a hole just big enough for me to fit through. I squeeze myself through, as quietly as possible.

I look at the cabin. They have supplies in there, I think, If only I can sneak in. I creep across to the cabin, staying out of Nick's sight. I decide that going in through doors and windows was a bad idea, for obvious reasons, but I didn't really have many other options. Until I notice another awkwardly placed plank of wood in the lattice of the cabin. _What was with these people and shoddy repair jobs_? Whatever the case, it was good news for me. I pry the plank of wood off and crawl inside. I can hear them inside. Luke calls a family meeting in the kitchen, Rebecca grumbles something about them not being a family. I hear a little girl's voice, and Carlos responds to her by ordering her to go to her room.

There's a small trap door and I try to open it. But my bare hands aren't strong enough to do so and the hammer is too awkward to maneuver. I pull out my knife from earlier and try to lever it open. It works, but my knife breaks in half. I lift myself into the house, holding back a cry of pain. I can hear Luke, Pete, and the rest of the house talking about me on one side of the cabin, so naturally I head to the other side, where a staircase stands. I carefully make my way up. I go straight into the first door in front of me.

It's a bathroom. I look around for anything I can use. I open the medicine cabinet and see a needle. I grab it, disappointed that there was nothing else of use for me in here. As I go to open the door, I hear someone coming. Quickly, I step inside the shower, pulling the shower curtain closed and holding my breath. The door opens and inside steps the pregnant lady.

"That man sometimes, I swear," she grumbles. I hear the squeak of a turning handle and running water. "If he finds out that this baby isn't his..." She whispers, a hint of panic in her voice. "I just need to keep it together. Keep it together, Rebecca. Keep. It. Together." She turns off the water and leaves the bathroom.

I gingerly step out of the shower and leave the bathroom. I head for the room across. I almost jump back when a little girl with black hair and glasses stares back at me. I gently force myself in her room.

"Who are you?" She whispers, "You're not supposed to be in here!"

I put a finger to my lips. "Please, I'm hurt. I need help."

She blinks a couple times. "Who are you?" she asks again.

I bite my lip, contemplating telling her a fake name. I decide against it. "I'm Clementine."

She smiles, "Hi, Clementine, I'm Sarah. How old are you?" "I'm eighteen." I answer. "I'm thirteen," She replies, "Can we be friends? I don't really have any friends since... Well, Rebecca is kind of my friend, but she's old and kind of grumpy right now."

I nod, "Sure, we can be friends." She holds out her pinky and makes me pinky swear. "Now, friends help each other out, right?" I ask.

Sarah nods enthusiastically, "Yeah! I have something my dad uses when I get hurt." She goes over to a drawer and pulls out a black bottle of peroxide. I can see that there are bandages and stuff inside, but she doesn't bring it. "I'd give you the other stuff, but my dad would notice and he would get really mad."

"What does your dad do when he's mad at you?" I ask, scared for my "friend". Sarah gives me a sad look. "He just says that he just loves me and cares about me. It's the worst." She pauses, "You should go now, before they catch you."

I nod and leave the room, "Thank you."

I head to another room, this one was completely empty. I look around for something I could use as a bandage. I open the top drawer of a dresser. Inside is a golden watch. I have a short battle with my conscious before deciding to pocket it. On top of the dresser is a small roll of cloth that I also swipe. _Close enough_.

I leave the room, go down the stairs, and go back to the shed the way I came. Once inside my shed, I lay out my supplies: a needle, a bottle of peroxide, and cloth (in place of bandages).

_ Fuck_. I still need thread. I look around the shed, looking for something. Inside a tackle box, I find a roll of fishing wire. Good enough. I take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself for what's about to happen.

"This is going to suck."

I take the fishing wire and pull it through the needle, decided an adequate amount to close my wound, and break the wire. I set it aside. I grab the peroxide and pour it on my wound. "Oh, fuck!" I cry out, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I wait for the pain to subside before grabbing the needle and wire.

I bite my lip and pierce the skin. I almost pass out from the pain, oh my God, it hurts so damn bad. I pull it through the other side. I bring my fist down on the small table to keep from shouting again. I repeat the process, pierce the skin, pull, piece again, four more times, before I can consider the wound sealed enough until morning.

I grab the makeshift bandages and begin to wrap my dog bite when I drop the damn things. At least I didn't develop butterfingers when I stitching myself.

I bend down to pick them up when a walker crawls through the hole I had escape out of. He grabs my arm and I kick him away. He grabs my leg and I fall backward. He crawls on top of me and I muster all the force I can and kick him off of me. He falls against the far wall. I grab a rake and pierce his body with it, granting me enough time to grab my hammer and smash it in his head. One, two, three, four blows to his head and it finally caves in, blood and brains coating the hammer. He stop moving.

The doors to the shed fly open and the entire gang, excluding Sarah, is standing there.

"What the fuck?" Rebecca shouts.

"This little lady is tough as nails." Pete comments, a grin on his face.

My breathing is hard and heavy, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. "I'm still. Not. Bitten." I say, lifting my arm, exposing my wound.

"Where did you the equipment to..." Nick asks, but Rebecca interrupts him.

"She stole from us, that little fucking thief!"

"Oh, calm down, Bec, you would've done the same if you were her." Luke says.

"I did what I had to do," I snarl at them, "I needed these things, but you left me out here to die." I look at every single one of them, holding their gazes, making sure they could feel my contempt for them.

Pete broke the silence. "Come inside, Clementine. Carlos will take a closer look at your bite. Then, if you're up for it, maybe you can have a bite to eat."

They all nod and head inside. I follow closely behind. Luke falls back to walk beside me.

"Listen," he says, "I'm sorry about that. I wish things could've gone differently."

I shake my head. "Don't bother me with your bullshit apologies. I could have died."

"Well," He replies, "I'm glad you didn't."

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**There will definitely be some ClemxLuke going on next chapter (nothing too sexy). Thank you for reading, don't forget to review! 3 **


	3. I Will Always Be Alone

A/N: Sorry about the long wait! I have no excuse, I'm just a dick. Thank you for the reviews! You guys are awesome~

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The inside of the cabin was kind of cozy, now that I could actually take it all in without fear of being caught and thrown out. It definitely was a hunting cabin before the outbreak started. It even held the softest hint of aftershave. Or maybe it was just Carlos, who was all in my face, finally looking at my dog bite, who smelled like aftershave.

"How's she lookin'?" Luke asks, he's leaning against the sink, looking at me as I sit on the kitchen island, Carlos's examination of my arm was done.

"Her suturing skills need some work," the doctor comments, "But other than that, she will be fine." He pauses and looks at Luke. "Could you leave Clementine and I for a minute, I need to talk to her."

Luke frowns but complies, leaving me with Carlos and his smelly aftershave. Carlos crosses his arms and gives me a stern look. "I wish you hadn't done what you did, Clementine."

"What I did, I did to survive. You guys weren't helping me." I grumble.

"You manipulated my daughter!" Carlos growled, "You used her!"

"She is a big girl," I respond, "She needs to grow up sometime."

His eyes narrow onto me, clearly perturbed by my reply. "Sarah isn't like you, Clementine. If she knew what the world is really like, she would... She would cease to function."

What he says settles uncomfortably in my bones. I want to ask what he meant, but decided that he probably didn't want me to know.

"One thing is for certain," he continues, "You, Clementine, are not to be trusted."

My jaw drops open and I can't even think of anything to respond with to his audacious claim. He leaves, satisfied with our encounter.

Luke walks in not even a heartbeat later, "Clementine, your food is on the table." He shoots me a smile and I follow him into the dining room, Carlos's words still plaguing my thoughts.

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Bland and lukewarm, this gruel should be disgusting, but everything is delicious if you're starving. I begin to shovel the food in the most obnoxious way into my mouth. Luke sits across from me, chuckling at my lack of manners. When I finish, I push the bowl away from me and sigh happily.

"So," Luke begins, "What happened to your parents?"

I feel like I've been punched in my chest. I think he can tell that he upset me because he shifts in his seat. "Well, I mean, I kinda just assume that what happened to them is what happened to everyone's parents."

I decide to answer him, trying to ignore the pain the reverberates throughout my chest. "They left me with a babysitter, because they were going on vacation. I told them..." I bite my lip, "I yelled at them, said I was too old to have a babysitter. I was fourteen and so fucking stupid. They came to my room to tell me goodbye. I wouldn't even give them a proper hug, because I was so mad at them. Then they were gone."

Luke looks at me with a sad, sad look on his face.

I don't want to keep talking, but I do. It kind of just spills out. "My babysitter was bitten when a geek stumbled into our backyard. She just thought he was an intruder and went out to... I don't know, fight him I guess. She told me to hide in this tree-house I had, it had been there since I was a kid. I had a walkie-talkie, one of those fancy ones that pick up on different frequencies, or whatever, and a hammer with me as I sat there. It wasn't very long until he came along." I don't wanna talk about this. I can't. My throat constricts around my words, but I force them out. "Lee showed up and saved me, that day and every day after. I ran away at one point, but he found me. He died to save me."

"He must have been some guy." Luke comments.

I nod. "He was. If it wasn't for Lee, I would have died a long time ago."

"Well then, I guess we have him to thank for you being here." I look up at Luke as though he was the one twisting the knife in my wound. I touch it absentmindedly, thinking of Lee and his stump of an arm. Luke sees me do this and smiles, "That's gonna leave one helluva scar."

"Better than cutting it off." I reply without thinking.

He nods, "If you ask me, scars are way cooler than stumps."

I can't help but give a little laugh. "Way cooler." I agree.

Luke leans closer to me. "You know, you have a very cute laugh."

A warm flush covers my face and I look away from him. I haven't been told that I had a cute anything since before at school. It caught me off-guard.

There a weird, unfamiliar tension in the room and I feel like I'm suffocating, until Nick walks in and breaks it. Luke falls back into his chair.

Nick faces me. "Hey, Clementine, I just wanted to apologize about, you know, almost shooting your face off and stuff. I got kind of aggro and that's not cool."

I shrug, "You were trying to protect your friends, I get it." I can't help but smirk, "Besides, with your shitty aim, you would've hit yourself before you hit me."

He gives me a funny smile, "Yeah, well, my shitty aim is the reason you're still here, so I wouldn't go crackin' jokes."

"Yeah, well, if you try to shoot me again, with your shitty aim, my awesome aim is gonna be the reason why you won't be here." I make sure to give him a giant grin, so that he knows that I'm just playing with him.

"Fuck off," he laughs, "When are you gonna get your useless ass outta here?"

"I was thinkin' maybe she could stay with us," Luke butts in, scratching the back of his neck. I look at him incredulously. _I don't even know these people and he wants me to stay?_ I think not, but I say nothing.

"Good luck bringing that up to Rebecca and Carlos." Nick says, "Anyways, I'm going to go to bed, we gotta get up early to check the fishing nets. Night Luke, Clementine." He leaves the room, leaving Luke and I alone once again.

"Uh, if you want you can sleep in my bed tonight." Luke offers, "Instead of that rickety old couch."

The thought of sleeping in some guy's bed makes me uncomfortable. Even if that guy is kind of cute, I don't want him thinking I owe him any favors. And if I were to sleep on his bed, would he sleep in it too? My faces flushes with these thoughts and I decide to take the much easier route.

"I can sleep on the couch, it's no big deal. It beats sleeping on the ground outside."

Luke nods and pushes himself out of his chair. "Well then, I guess I'll go get you some blankets and a pillow or something."

He leaves before I can even get out of my own chair. I stand and stretch, eliciting a yawn. The door to the dining room open and shuts and before I can turn around to see who it is, Rebecca nearly growls at me.

"You're still here? I wouldn't get too fucking comfortable if I were you." She hisses, "I see how you look at Luke; you better leave that boy alone. The sooner you leave, the fucking better."

"Who is the father?" I ask, faking innocence. "If it's not Alvin's, then whose is it?"

Rebecca turns to face me, her face was pale with fear. "You shut your fucking mouth!"

I smile at her, "I'm just saying, you might want to think about being a little nicer to me."

Her gaze is full of contempt, but I know that I've won. "I knew you were going to be a fucking problem." She storms out of the room in a rush.

A feeling of victory washes over me and I let it carry me to the living room of the cabin. There, Luke is arranging a sleeping area for me. _Geez, he didn't have to do all that._

Rebecca's words float through my mind and I know she has it all wrong. I'm not the one looking at Luke, he's the one looking at _me_; he wants _me_. We haven't even known each other for a day, but his attraction in obvious. He won't stop looking up at me and smiling, as though everything he does is a shared secret that only he and I know.

I thank him for the sleeping area and can't help but notice how his eyes linger on me. I briefly consider indulging him, for just one night, but decide against it. I'm a little shocked, to be honest, that such a though crossed my mind. There aren't many things that carry the same sanctity as they did before the outbreak, but I think that preserving my virginity is one of them. How could I have considered loosing it so soon, especially to someone I don't even know, someone I don't even love.

Would I ever be able to love someone in that way? I silently wonder, as I lie in the makeshift bed. But I already know the answer.

There will never be a time for love, not anymore. That door is shut tight with no key in sight and I'm all alone.

I will always be alone.

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A/N: Reviews make me smile!


	4. Say Cheese!

Thank you for the reviews you guys! I love you all~ Don't hesitate to tell me what I can improve on or anything!

Short chapters are the bee's knees, am I right?

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"How are you doin', Sweet Pea?"

"Not good." I answer, bluntly.

Lee frowns from across the way. We're sitting in my old tree-house, but it's a lot less spacious than I remember. We've met every night since we died, in my dreams. I don't think it's actually him or his ghost or whatever, but I pretend that it is. It makes me feel better, less alone.

"What's the matter?" He asks, crossing his arms. In my dreams, Lee is whole, even more so than I am.

I bury my face in my hands and relay my story to him; Christa getting attacked, getting bitten by Sam, being saved by Pete and Luke, performing mild surgery on myself, and Luke looking at me in that way. He is particularly unhappy with the Luke part. "What should I do?" I ask him when I reach the end of my story.

"I'll tell you what, Clem. I don't like that guy, no one should be looking at you like that," Lee grumbles, his deep baritone making his pout sound ridiculous, "But you need to stay with them. You'll be all alone, and I know you're a tough girl, but you can't survive by yourself. Stay with these guys for as long as you can."

I swish the idea around in my head. "But they don't even like me. How do I make them want me to stay?"

"Make them see how useful and resourceful you are, Clem. I believe in you." Lee smiles at me and I smile back.

"I love you, Sweet Pea."

"I love you too, Lee."

* * *

"Clementine, wake up!"

I shoot up from my makeshift bed, grabbing my hat and settling it on my head. I look around wildly, preparing to be attacked or to hide, when a bright light flashes in my face. Sarah stands next to the couch, clutching an old camera excitedly. It was one of those that spat out the picture immediately after it was taken. Sarah grabs the photo that comes out.

"Look what I found!" She says, waving the picture around. The picture isn't particularly flattering, my hair is unkempt and my eyes are puffy from sleep.

"Is this why you woke me up?" I ask, grumpily, swiping the picture from her hands.

She nods. "I want to take pictures to remember everyone! But I want them to be, like, natural. No poses or anything, just them everyday." She pauses before thrusting the camera into my hands. "Take a picture of me, please?"

I oblige her, waiting for her to look natural, like she wanted, but instead she stands smiling so wide, it's actually kind of awkward and embarrassing. I take the picture and hand the camera to her. The camera spits the photo out and she grabs it, admiring herself.

"Wanna walk around with me and take pictures of everyone?"

"Actually, I was gonna see if Pete and Nick needed help checking the fish traps or something." I say. I was eager to prove my worth.

"Pete and Nick go everyday," Sarah retorts, "besides, they're done with that for the day anyways. I bet if you ask though, you can go tomorrow. So, will you come with me?"

She's so excited for these pictures, I just have a hard time saying "no". So, I agree. She nearly skips out of the living room and into the dining room, and I half-expect her to click her heels together in mid-air In the dining room stands Rebecca, opening a can of green beans. Sarah snaps a picture of her.

"Ah, what the fuck?" The pregnant woman nearly roars. She glares at me and Sarah, noting the camera in the younger girl's hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're trying to make me go into early labor?"

Sarah goes on and on about preserving memories and Rebecca nods, her anger subsiding.

"Okay, I get it. Just make sure you get a picture of me after I drop this baby. I don't want the last picture of me to be one where I look like a whale." She laughs and it makes me uncomfortable. Sarah laughs with her, even though I'm pretty sure it's just so that Rebecca stays lighthearted.

We leave the dining room and head upstairs, to Sarah's room. She knocks lightly before opening the door. Inside, Carlos sits on the floor, cutting up old pieces of cloth to use as bandages, presumably. Sarah snaps a picture of him and the look on his face goes from concentrated to manic. He seizes the camera from her hands.

"What are you doing? Where did you get this?" He says, his voice low and serious.

Sarah looks like she might pass out from fear, so I decide to take the fall for her. "It was my idea. I found it when I snuck in the house last night. I thought it'd be cool to take pictures of everyone. Mementos of our time together."

"I wouldn't bother," Carlos growls, "At this rate, you'll be out of the group before nightfall."

Sarah gives me a worried look, but I only give a small shrug. I'm actually terrified of being left alone, but they knew how desperate I was... I just wouldn't be able to stand the shame.

When we exit the room, Sarah leans into me. "You didn't have to do that." She whispers.

I smile at her, "Sure, I did. It's what friends do."

By the way she looked at me, you'd think I'd have asked her to marry me or something. But at least she was happy.

We made our way into the next room, skipping the room I stole the watch from, and inside was Alvin. He was laying on the bed, reading a book. It was thick and bound in leather. Sarah snapped a picture of him. Thank God, he didn't overreact. Instead, he laughed and told us that what we were doing was great. That we "shouldn't forget the little things".

As we left Alvin's room, Sarah bounded down the stairs and lead us out of the house. Carlos's words from last night leap from the pit of my stomach. I don't know how much Sarah knew of what was going on, but I decided to take the wheel from here on out.

"Hey, do you mind if I take the last few pictures?" I ask, "There's only Pete, Nick, and Luke left, right?"

Sarah clutched her camera tightly, but nodded, handing it over. "Yeah, okay. Dad doesn't like me going out anyways."

I take the camera carefully and Sarah points a finger at me. "They're in the shed, by the way, cleaning out the fish. Make sure they look natural!"

I nod and she takes off, back up the stairs, and I head to the shed. The memory of it sent a cold chill down my spine. I open the door and inside stood Nick, Luke, and Pete. They were all gutting, cleaning, and cutting the fish they had caught in the traps. The horrible stench almost made me hurl. Quickly, before they looked at me, I took a picture of them.

"Whoa, I hope you got my good side." Pete grins, realizing what I did.

"Hey, where did you get that?" Nick asks.

I pull the photo as the camera dispenses it. "Sarah found it, actually. Wanted to take pictures of everyone."

"Yeah, well obviously she didn't take a picture of _you_, the camera still works." Nick cackles.

I look at the picture and laugh. "Yeah, well at least I don't look like a fat pile of fish guts." Nick reaches for the pictures and plucks it from my hands. His face turns red and he rips it up.

"Hey!" I snap, "What gives?"

"Take another one!" He says, "Hey, you both, pose!"

Pete and Luke give Nick a wary look, but turn towards me, smiling for the camera. They all look good, but I can't help but find myself staring at Luke's brilliant smile. It takes me a second to remember that I have a camera and that's why I'm here and... _Oh no_, I've become flustered.

I take the picture as quickly as possible, grab the photo and shove it into my back pocket, hoping to retreat back to the house.

"Hey, I wanna see the picture!" Nick says.

I step back but he rushes towards me, reaching for the photo, pulling it and the one of me from earlier out. I push him off of me, telling him to keep his dirty paws off of my butt.

He looks at the picture of the three of them, Pete and Luke on either side of him, examining it as well. "Please, Clementine, you're not my type." His eyes widen, "Is this you? You look awful when you first wake up. You look high, actually."

I flush, and before I can say anything, Luke has taken the picture out of Nick's hands. "Don't be a dickhead, Nick. Besides, she doesn't look bad here. You, however, look like shit."

Nick makes a disdainful face, but says nothing.

Luke walks over to me and hands me the picture. I take it from him, our hands touching for only a second, but it sends electricity throughout my body.

"I think you look cute in the picture." He says.

My everything becomes hot and I can't think of anything to say. Nothing and, for some reason, I can't even think a coherent thought. Except for one:

_Luke thinks I'm cute. _

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Reviewers are my favorite kind of people~


	5. Twenty Questions

**A/n: **Another short chapter for you guys. It's only slightly Lukentine~

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All I wanted was a glass of water, so how I ended up playing a weird, oddly-personal version of "Twenty Questions" with Luke is beyond me.

He went first, of course. "This Lee... was he your boyfriend?"

I nearly choke on my water. "What? No! He was like my dad! Plus he was, like, twenty years older than me!"

Luke laughs at my reaction. "Okay, okay. Have you have any boyfriends since?"

I crinkle my nose. "Isn't it my turn to ask a question?"

"No, I have to ask you twenty questions. That's why it's called twenty questions. And that was a question."

"No, that doesn't count! I'm pretty sure that we ask a total of twenty questions, back and forth."

"Clementine, it would be called ten questions then, not twenty questions. You're not very good at this game, you know?"

I grin, "Technically, that was a question. My turn. Have you had a boyfriend since all this?"

He gives me a pointed look. "I have not, actually. Believe it or not, but guys just aren't my type. Too much going on, down there."

"Uh, too much information!" I say, my face warm.

"You asked!"

"Irregardless! You don't need to say anything about anything down there!" I'm not looking at him because I know my face is more red than brown and I'm just not equipped to deal with it right now.

Luke leaned across the table, "Clementine, are you a virgin?" He asks slowly, almost like he didn't believe that he would have to ask such a question.

I stand up, preparing to leave. "That's not any of your business!"

I turn to leave, but Luke grabs my wrist, keeping me from leaving. "Hey, it's not something to be embarrassed about. I was just curious."

I don't face him, but I don't try to leave. "Yeah, I'm still a virgin. It's not easy meeting a nice boy who won't eat your face in the zombie apocalypse, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. There hasn't been anyone that you've even thought about in that way since?"

I consider lying to him, but there really isn't any going back now. If I'm telling the truth, might as well keep telling it. "Yeah, there was this guy a while ago. I kinda had a crush on him, or whatever. His name was Ben, but he almost got us killed like a million times and it made him so much less cute. And then he, you know, got eaten." I don't like all this attention on my personal life, or lack thereof. "What about you?"

"I haven't been a virgin since before all this," he laughs.

I pause for a second, "Has there been anyone since?"

"Yeah, this girl, one time. I was out on a supply run and she was there too. She was kinda cute and, yeah."

A small feeling of jealousy swells in my throat, but I push it down. I don't know how to respond, so I don't. I don't actually want to hear about any girl that he's been with in that way, I just didn't want to talk about my lack of experience.

"I need to go to bed," I say, quietly, after too long of an uncomfortable silence. I twist my wrist out of his hold.

"Clementine, are you alright?" Luke asks, his voice soft.

I nod, "Yeah, I'm just tired. I told Pete I would go with him and Nick tomorrow for sure, I want to be able to pull my own weight around here."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Clementine. I just want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything. I want you to know that you can trust me."

"Yeah, I can trust you. Trust you to put me in a shed because I've been bitten by a dog." I spit the words out before I fully realize what I'm saying. And when I do realize, guilt squeezes my stomach and I want to immediately take it back. _Why, why, why did I say that_?

But Luke nods like he understands. "I get it, Clementine. I can wait for you to trust me, no matter how long it takes."

I want to apologize for my outburst, but my pride doesn't let me. _Why am I acting like this_?

"Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Clementine. We'll finish our game some other time."

There is another long silence, one that I could choose to fill with an apology, but I don't. I can't let him know that I don't actually distrust him.

I don't want to seem petty and weak and too trusting, even though those are all things that I am.

* * *

**Review, review, review~ Tell me what you guys would like to see more of, or what I can improve on, or whatever~ Thank you for reading! **


	6. Down By The River

**A/n: **Sorry, it's taken so long to update! I've been addicted to my other fic. . (which you should totally check out if you haven't already!) Also, I've been kind of dreading writing this chapter. It's mostly filler though, so bear with me! Oh, and thank you so much the all of your reviews! I'd respond to them personally, but to be honest, I clam up and don't want y'all to think I'm a complete idiot. Anyways, I hope you enjoy~

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I walk along side Pete, the fall leaves crunching beneath us. I can't help but yawn for the seventh time since waking up. I splashed cold water on my face before we left, trying to wake up but it didn't help much.

"Did you go to sleep late or something?" Pete asks.

I shake my head, "No, not really. I'm just not a morning person."

"Oh? Then why did you ask to come with me and Nick to check the fish traps?"

I shrug, "I want to prove to you guys that I'm an asset!" I look behind us, Nick nowhere in sight. "Where is that dickhead, by the way? Oh, sorry. That's your nephew, I forgot."

Pete laughs, "It's alright, Clementine, he is kind of a dickhead. He'll be joining us soon enough. Now, lemme tell you a story about Nick. You see, Nick's dad was a real piece of shit guy, like the worst kinda man, if you could even call him that. He was never there for Nick, and when he was he..." He shakes his head, "Anyways, so Nick needed a man in his life, to guide him. So, I couldn't be 'Cool Uncle Pete', I had to step up and tell him how to be a man. One of the man lessons was hunting, so I took him out to the woods when he was about twelve. We're out for hours, right, just hunting game, and getting nowhere, until we come across a ten-point buck, a real beauty. I hand him a rifle, not much different than this one," he lifts his rifle and I nod, "and tell him to shoot. He lifts the rifle to shoot, but freaks out. He starts crying about how he can't do it. 'I can't, Uncle Pete, I can't, please don't make me shoot it!' Damn near shot me in the gut. Anyways, so the buck got away that day. I did end up finding the same buck a couple o' weeks later, shot it, and brought it to my sister's to house to eat later. Nick was so pissed at me, he refused to talk to me for about a month."

"Hey, what're you telling her that story for?" Nick's voice grumbles from us and I jump. I scold myself for being caught off guard.

Pete gives Nick an indignant look, "You damn near shot her in the foot the other day. I just thought that it would only be fair to reassure her that it's nothing personal, you just got shitty aim."

Nick glares at Pete, then rushes off ahead of us, swearing under his breath.

Pete shakes his head, "See, Clementine. Sometimes, you gotta do what's best for the people you love, even if it means they hate you for it."

"Pete, I don't think Nick hates you. You are his uncle after all." I say. He looks at me and grins. I'm not sure he believes me, but his smile says he does.

"Oh God! Uncle Pete, come here!" Nick cries out from ahead of us.

Panic sets in and we run as fast as we can to Nick. He stands on the riverbed, his gun in hand, ready to fire. Riddled along the banks of the river are bodies. Bodies, everywhere. Not all of them are dead, but they are all incapacitated. Even though dead people and walkers were anything but uncommon nowadays there was something... _deliberate_ about this scene. Like someone set this up for us to see. My stomach twists and I fight the urge to throw up.

"Wh-what is it?" Nick asks.

"FUBAR." Pete answers, solemnly. Fucked up beyond all recognition.

"Who would do this?" I whisper, walking by a walker with a flag stuck in its eye.

"Do you think it was Carver?" Nick asks Pete.

"Could be." Was the answer.

Before I could ask who Carver was, Pete started to bark orders. He sent Nick to the other side of the river to investigate, see if there were any clues to who did this and why. Pete himself started to investigate the bodies on the side of the river that we were already on.

"Anything I can do to help?" I ask Pete, as he investigates one of the bodies.

"Scavenge around. See if there's anything useful that we can take back." He points to an small island in the middle of the river, "We got both sides of the river covered, you check the middle."

I cross my arms, "You know, I'd be more useful with a gun."

"I know," Pete sighs, "But not everyone trusts you to handle a gun, Clementine."

"You don't trust me?" I ask, a hint of sadness in my voice.

"Aw, hell, I trust ya. I promise, when we get back, I'll talk everyone into letting you be the gun-shooter of the group. Sound good?"

"I'll take it." I say, "But you better not forget." He laughs, and I head to the island.

There are only three bodies on the island. Two belonging to walkers who had bullet holes in their heads and another that was laying next to... My backpack? I rush over to my purple bag and immediately unzip it. Inside is my water bottle, the picture that Duck drew, and the only picture I had of Lee. I'm so happy, I could cry.

"Help... Help me..." A hoarse voice croaks at me. I jerk my head to the side and look at the man. He was dark skinned and had a familiar face... I could have sworn I've seen him before. Then, it hits me.

"You were in the woods, attacking Christa... Where is she?" I ask, raising my voice. "Where is she? Tell me!"

"Wa... Water..." He gasps.

I look down at my water bottle, not sure if I should give him any. He attacked Christa, he might have killed her. _But he knew_. He had to know what happened to her. I hold the water bottle to his lips, helping him drink it. Before I can ask him about Christa, I hear Pete shout, "Fuck!"

I look over at him and see a walker crawling to him. His ankle is bleeding profusely and a string of flesh is trailing out of him. "Oh, shit." I whisper. Pete's been bitten.

"Uncle Pete!" Nick cries out, shooting his gun. The shot echoing throughout the woods. They were both struggling with walkers.

"Goddamn it, both of you, get your asses over here now!" Pete bellows, still fighting off the walker. Several more walkers appear on that side of the river.

I look at both of them. Pete was bitten, but needed the help more. But how much could I really help him? Nick needed help too. _Oh, fuck. Oh fuck. What do I do?_

I take a deep breath and swallow.

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**Noooo, I honestly don't know what Clementine is going to do yet. *DYING WHALE SOUNDS***

**Anyways, don't be scared to review. **


	7. Up In Smoke

**A/n: Let me preface this chapter with these chicken nuggets of glory; (1) This story is obviously not canon, and I've altered the story a tad (obviously) and (2) In this story, Clementine is an adult. So, please don't hate. All that being said, I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter~**

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I breathe in.

And exhale.

"Pete!" I run to him, leaving Nick to his own devices. He was healthy, young, and armed, he could take care of himself. Pete needed me.

He was being attacked by a walker, who had knocked him down. He was keeping it at bay with his legs, but it would get him soon enough. I pick up a plank of wood and smash it into one of the walkers forearms, over and over, until it splits open, gushing blood. Pete grabs the walker hand and throws it at the walker with enough force to knock it backwards.

He looks over at Nick who is fighting back walkers with the blunt end of his gun. He takes two out before running into the woods. Walkers are beginning to close in on us as well.

"Pete, we gotta go!" I cry out.

Pete reluctantly agrees, and we enter the woods as quickly as we can. He's limping along as fast as he can, which would normally be a problem, but there aren't too many walkers around. As we go deeper in the woods, we find ourselves surrounded by walkers. But, by the grace of whatever omnipresent figure exists, there was also an abandoned storage truck, with it's back door wide open. We go inside as quickly as we can, locking the doors as best we can.

The walkers groan and hit the back doors, but they have no way of getting in. I sigh in relief and it feels like I've been holding in my breath this whole time. I look at Pete, who is breathing heavily, squeezing his bitten leg.

I bite my lip as I decide to confront him. "What are you going to do about it?"

His eyes lock onto me, then onto the object front in front of me, lying on the floor: a handsaw. "You think it could work?" He asks.

I immediately think of Lee and cross my arms, rubbing the crooks of my elbows with my thumbs. "I had a friend who tried it, and it didn't work for him. But I guess it could, everyone is different."

"Give it to me."

I lean down and pick it up, but hesitate before handing it to him. He takes it and poises it above his leg. I scrunch up my face, but don't look away. He lowers it and I brace myself for the gore about to happen.

But instead of cutting his leg off, he tosses the saw aside. "Aw, fuck it. I'd just bleed out like a stuck fuckin' pig."

I kind of agreed, but I didn't want him to feel like all hope was lost. But we both knew better. "There's no other option really... Aside from..." My voice trails off.

Pete gives me a sad smile. "You wouldn't be able to carry me, Clementine." I want to protest him, but he shakes his head. "How bout you look around this truck for something we can use to get you outta here?"

I nod and look around the truck. I notice the keys are in the ignition, but when I try to start it up, nothing happens. The only other notable thing in the truck was an open box of cigarettes. I take a pack to Pete. I'm not sure if he's a smoker or not though, so it seems kind of stupid.

"Gimme one of those." He says, and I do. "You gotta light?"

I take off my backpack and pull my lighter out, lighting his cigarette for him. He inhales, and coughs lightly, making a disdainful face.

"These taste as bad as they smell," he mutters, before looking at me, "You ever smoke before in your life, Clementine?"

I shake my head. I've thought about it though. He hands me the cigarette and I gingerly take it. I hold the tip in between my lips and breathe it in, taking it in my lungs and... _Oh my god,_ it burns and I feel my throat constricting. I cough and cough and cough, almost certain that I'm going to expel my lungs. I give the cigarette back to Pete who is chuckling so hard, he's holding his sides. My cheeks are hot from being embarrassed and from the warmth of the cigarette.

"That's good, kid. It means you have healthy lungs." He says, after he's done laughing.

I slink to the floor, holding my head. It was only one drag, but it still left me feeling light-headed. Before I know it, I've passed out.

* * *

I wake up to Pete groaning in pain. I don't know if he's just hurting or if he's turned, so I stand up slowly, picking up the saw, just in case.

"Pete?" I whisper, "Are you... you?"

He groans, but sits himself up, coughing and hacking. "Aw, fuck. I feel like ten pounds of shit in a five pound sack." He coughs some more. "Jesus."

I look at him sadly and we both know that the end is near. I want to say something to him, but I can't.

He stares at the floor intently, mulling something over in his mind. "You know, Clementine, I've been thinking, and I realized that I don't wanna die. I never thought I'd be the kind of idiot that said some bullshit like that, but there it is." He pauses and looks at me, "I'm scared, Clementine."

I bite my lip. I want to tell him that he's going to be okay, but I don't want to bullshit him. I lower my eyes. "Everyone ends up like this."

He grins morbidly, "You're right. But Clementine, would you do me a favor? Would you promise me you'll watch out for Nick. I love that stupid kid. No matter what you think, he's a good boy."

"I... I'll do my best." I promise.

"Thank you." He looks at the closed truck doors, "It's been almost a day, they ain't gonna find us." He cracks open the doors, "There's no hope for me. You're gonna have to make a break for it. I'll buy you some time."

"You're coming with me, Pete." I say, sternly.

He chuckles darkly, "To do what? Die a few hours later?"

"To say good-bye to Nick."

He sighs, "Alright. I'll try." He forces himself to stand up, "Well, we're burnin' daylight. Let's get this over with."

Pete pushes the doors open and we creep out. We're quiet, so the walkers don't notice at first. But when we start running, Pete's leg gives out and he falls to the ground. The walkers moan and groan, coming for us.

"Fuck, this ain't gonna work." He pushes himself off the ground, "Go on, now. Find my nephew!"

"You have to try!" I say, pulling his arm. He pushes me back.

"I said, go!" He roars. "Goddamn it, go!"

I turn around and start running, dodging a few walkers that try to grab me. I try so hard not to, but I cry, my tears blurring my vision. I run and run until my lungs start to burn, but finally, I see the cabin. I burst through the door.

"Clementine!" Luke exclaims.

"Where are Nick and Pete?" Carlos asks, his expression worried.

"Pete was bit!" I blurt out, "And I don't know where Nick is." My chest is heaving and I feel like my legs are going to fall off.

"We gotta go out and find him!" Alvin says, standing up. Rebecca pulls on his shirt sleeve.

"No, you can't." She growls, "I need you here. Nick's on his own."

Luke glares at her, "Fuck you, Nick needs us. He's a part of this group, a part of this family."

Rebecca glares back at him, but she uncrosses his previously crossed arms in defeat. "Fuck. Alright, we'll go get the guns." Rebecca and Alvin leave the dining room.

"I'm going to tell Sarah that we're leaving." Carlos says, turning to me, "Would you mind staying here and keeping an eye out on Sarah? You don't look like you're in any state to go anywhere."

I realize that they can tell I've been crying and I wipe my face with my sleeve. "Yeah, no problem. Just find Nick."

Carlos nods at me, "Thank you." He leaves the room as well, leaving me with Luke.

Luke turns to me and opens his mouth, but before either of us can say anything, I pull him to me and bury my face in his broad chest. I curl my fists into the back of his shirt and I sob. He hesitates before wrapping his arms around me.

"Luke, Pete died! He died, so that I could get away!" I cry, my voice breaking and hiccuping, "I should've stayed with him. If I didn't he wouldn't have gotten bit! And he made me promise to take care of Nick, but how am I supposed to take care of Nick if I can't even take care of myself?" My body shudders and shakes with my hysterical sobs, but I can't stop.

I feel Luke take my hat off so that he can stroke my hair. He rests his head on top of mine easily, considering the fact that he was almost a foot taller than me. The gesture helps soothe me, and my sobs slow to small hiccups and sniffles.

"You did what you could, Clementine." He says, his voice soft. "No one is blaming you."

"I'm blaming me." I whisper.

"You shouldn't." Is all he says before placing his lips against my forehead, sending a shudder throughout my body.

I can feel my knees go weak, but I keep myself standing tall. I pull away from Luke and look him in his big, brown eyes. If I wanted to, I could lean forward and kiss him. And I do want to. But now is not the time.

Right now, the only thing I have time for is grief.

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**Some Lukentine to make the pain go away~ Don't be afraid to review! Reviews make me smile like an idiot. **


	8. The Stranger

**A/n: **AHAHAHAHAHAHAH OH MY GOSH I GUESS I WAS WAY TOO DAMN TIRED LAST NIGHT AND I UPLOADED THE WRONG CHAPTER TO THE WRONG FIC PLEASE FORGIVE ME I FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT *BURIES SELF IN SAND* OH WELL THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO LET ME KNOW THAT I DUN GOOF'D IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I DUNNO WHAT I WOULD'VE DONE

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"You have no idea who these people are, do you?"

The mysterious older man looks down on me, in every sense of the phrase, and I make sure to return his glare. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He lets go of the picture he found of Sarah, that I pretended not to know anything about, and it flutters to the wooden floor. "Lemme ask you something," He begins, "When you met 'em, how much did they trust you?"

I hesitate before answering, and in that moment, he knows that I've been lying. "What's your point?"

"If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?"

I don't answer him, instead I glare at him intently, and he returns my gawk.

"Well, I think I've troubled you enough. I can let myself out." He finally breaks the silence. He walks down the stairs and starts heading for the door. I can't help but follow him out, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Why shouldn't I trust them?" I call after him. His words shook me to my core.

He just looks at me, giving me a dark smile, "You have a real good day now."

As soon as the front door slams, Sarah crawls out from her hiding spot under the bed. "Where is he?" She whimpers.

I shake my head, trying, and failing to, not to think of what he had said. "He's gone." I pause and turn to the younger girl. "We need to find the others." I bound down the stairs and start headed towards the door. I kind of wanted to find the others. I kind of wanted to run away.

Before I can reach the door, it's pulled open and Nick stares at me, wide-eyed, with the rest of the group behind them. "Clementine!" He rushes to me and grabs me by the shoulders, "They told me about Uncle Pete. You know where he is, right? Come on, let's go." There's a frantic, almost manic, look in his eyes.

"Wait!" Sarah cries out, "A man was here! Someone came to the cabin! Clementine talked to him."

The entire group looks at me with shock and anger. Especially Rebecca.

"And you just _opened_ the door for him?" She nearly spits at me.

"Calm down, Rebecca." Luke intervenes.

"Calm down? I am calm! _You_ calm down!"

I look at Luke, avoiding Rebecca's gaze because I know it would make me want to punch her, and I don't know if I have the nerve to punch a pregnant woman. "He was coming in either way." I say.

"I told you not to open the door for anyone," Carlos shakes his head, "Did he say what his name was?" and I shake my head.

"Maybe it wasn't him." Rebecca muses, but Alvin disagrees.

"You know damn well who it was."

"Why do _you_ care so much?" I ask Rebecca. I was tired of not being in the know with the group. They were hiding something from me, I could feel it.

Rebecca steps forward, "Excuse me?"

"Clementine, could you just describe him for us? What was he wearing?" Carlos asks. He seems worried and... _frightened._ It starts to unnerve me.

"He was older," I begin, "with a mustache and a gravelly voice. It was really deep and scratchy."

"He talked about you, Dad," Sarah confesses, "You're not going to hurt anyone, are you?"

Before Carlos can answer, Luke does so for him. "Of course not, Sarah. You're dad's the nicest guy I know, which is why he's not going to do anything crazy or... Not nice. Right, Carlos?"

Carlos puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us." Sarah gives her father a wary look, but doesn't say anything to contradict him.

Luke turns to me, "Alright, what do you think? Did it seem like he'd be coming back?"

"He saw a picture of me." Sarah confesses, holding the offending photograph.

Carlos's eyes widen and he snatches the picture from Sarah's hands. "I knew it was bad idea, letting you keep that damn camera!"

I step forward, "It was my fault, Carlos. I wanted to take the picture."

The doctor looks at me incredulously but Sarah grabs his sleeve. "No, Dad, it was me! I wanted the picture!"

He sighs, "He was scouting. We got lucky, he wasn't expecting to find us. Clementine must have surprised him. If she hadn't been there..." Carlos looks at me, his eyes lined with anxious gratitude. "But he'll be back with all the rest. We don't have much time."

Luke agrees, "He's right. Everyone pack up. We're moving out."

Alvin pushes past the group angrily, leaving the room, with Rebecca following after him pathetically.

Carlos turns to his daughter, "We have to leave now, sweetie, before he comes back with more bad guys. But we're going to be okay."

Sarah nods, but it doesn't look like she believes him.

"What does he want?" I ask the remaining members of the group.

"To bring us back." Carlos answers sullenly. "I don't know what he told you, Clementine, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He is the leader of a camp not far from here, and he is very smart. We were lucky to escape. Look, I'm sorry to involve you, but now that he's seen you, you'll be much safer with us."

I don't say anything, but I know that they know what I'm thinking._ If this dangerous man was after them, wouldn't staying with them be less safe?_ But I couldn't survive out there on my own. Not with my dog bite still healing, the stiches threatening to break with every move I made. It seemed like I had no choice. Carlos doesn't wait for me to answer, leaving the room with Sarah, to pack their things.

After being silent for so long, Nick finally speaks up. "We hafta find Pete."

Luke looks at me, "We'll get him on the way out, Nick. Clementine, you know where he was, right?"

I nod in response, not wanting to tell Luke, in front of Nick, that the endeavor would probably be in vain.

"Alright," he continues, "Everybody, pack your stuff, let's hit the road."

* * *

**THANK YOU FOR READING I STILL FEEL STUPID OH MY GOD **


	9. Moonshine

**A/n: Sorry, it's been a while since my last update! I'm still embarrassed about posting the wrong chapter to the wrong story, tbh. *Nervous laughter* Oh, and thank you for the reviews! I read every single one of them and they all make me feel all warm and fuzzy! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter~**

* * *

We walk along through the woods, even though I was the only one who knew where Pete was, Luke was leading the way. Whatever, I wasn't going to try to fight him for leadership.

He kept trying to talk to me, trying to pry me open emotionally, when we first left, until I finally snapped at him, "It was a mistake, okay?! I didn't mean to.. to cry, alright? Could you just let me deal with it by myself?"

Luke looked at me with a disappointed look, but conceded. "Fine. That's really healthy." He looked ahead, "You said just up here, right?"

"Yeah."

He moved ahead of me, no longer trying to talk to me. I was partly relieved, but I also kind of felt a little guilty. But I couldn't apologize, the only thing I was feeling stronger than guilt, was my sense of pride.

"Hey Clementine," Rebecca says, waddling closer to me, "I'm sorry about giving you shit back there. I guess I've just been a little on edge lately. It's just a tough time right now, with the pregnancy and all."

I purse my lips. I didn't like that she was blaming her bitchiness on her being pregnant, but I didn't know what that was like, so for all I knew, it was a valid reason. "Why is Carver after you?"

Her eyes widen, "_Me_? I don't- Oh, us! He's after us, I guess he just has a hard time letting go." She sighs, "Sometimes, it's just hard knowing just how dependent I am on everyone. I'm not used to that. I'm not comfortable with that. I'm supposed to be a mom soon. I guess I need to work on my patience." She places a hand on her swollen belly, and smiles gently. "You know, we still haven't decided on a name for her. Or him, if that man gets his wish, God help me. What do you think, Clem?"

Before I can answer her, the familiar sight of the red cigarette truck caught my eyes. "Hold on," I say, heading for the truck. Luke, Nick, and Alvin notice my advancement and trail behind me closely. "That's it. That's where we were."

I survey the area, cautiously, but it looks like all the walkers were killed. Nick, however, does not share my concern for safety, and he rushes ahead to the truck, opening the back doors, only to discover that it was empty. Nick looks back at me for an answer and I can only say, "That was the last place I saw him." Like he's a toy or a thing, anything but a person. You would think that I'd be used to people dying by now, but I'm not.

"Maybe he's around here somewhere." Alvin suggests.

We begin to look around for any trace of Pete, when my eyes lock onto an ominous looking trail of blood. I follow it with discretion to its end, behind a large set of rocks. I've seen my fair share of horrors in the apocalypse, but it still always seems to catch me off-guard every time I encounter a new one. I had found Pete.

I call out to the rest of the group, trying to keep my voice from shaking, but failing miserably. They come over, and when they lay their eyes upon the sight, they all become unnerved. He's dead, his skin a pale grey color, with a bullet hole in his head, although it didn't look like he had actually become a walker. Worst of all, all of his innards had been pulled out and scrambled all around him. A horrible realization befell the group. There was nothing about his death that was accidental, it had all been calculated and deliberate.

I didn't need to ask the group who did it, because I knew better than to ask by now. But there was no longer any doubt in my mind that we were dealing with someone much more dangerous than anyone I'd ever dealt with before.

* * *

We all surrounded a meager campfire. Rebecca, Alvin, Sarah, and Carlos had already fallen asleep, leaving only Nick, Luke, and I the only ones awake.

Luke had found the location of what used to be a ski resort on his map and decided that that would be out next destination. And as great as that was, he failed to mention until nightfall that the trip was going to take us five days. Five days of walking, awkward interactions with the rest of the group, five days of trying to survive with little food and provisions.

This was only the first night.

"Tell me. Tell me how it happened." Nick said solemnly, his hands wrapped around his pulled-up knees, like a child.

I look over at him. The darkness tried to hide the deep sadness and mourning on his face, but the fire from the camp illuminated it. Guilt pulled at my stomach. "The last thing he said, was that he wanted to say good-bye to you."

"Fuck..." Nick whispers, lowering his eyes. I know that look all too well. I want to say something- anything- to comfort him, but I know my words won't help. There's nothing I, or anyone else, could say, that would make Nick feel better.

He rubs his eyes with his long sleeve, before turning around and grabbing his backpack. He opens it up and fishes around for something, before pulling out several mason jars of water. Thank God.

"Nick, what the hell?" Luke asks, but Nick only glares at him.

"Do you want some or not?" Nick looks at both Luke and I.

I sure do. I'm thirsty as all hell. My water bottle had run out right before we made camp. I nod, and Nick hands me one of the mason jars of water. Luke hesitantly takes one as well. We all pop open our jars.

Luke lifts his, in a toast, "To Pete."

Nick and I lift our jars as well, before we all take a collective drink from our jars.

As soon as the liquid hits my tongue, it becomes numb and hot, the sensation going all the way down my throat and dropping into my belly. I'm so thirsty, I don't even notice, until I realize that it's not quenching my thirst. I stop chugging the drink and start coughing.

"Fuck, Clementine," Nick comments, "How did you do that?"

I grab my throat and look at him, my eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"

"Moonshine." He answers.

"_Moonshine_? What the fuck is moonshine? I thought it was water!"

I can hear Luke laughing. "You drank it like it was water! You were chugging it like it was gonna save your life!"

"Fuck you," I cry out, "I thought it was water!"

"Moonshine is hardcore alcohol, and you drank half a fucking jar, Clementine," Nick says, "Maybe you should lay down. That's gonna hit you hard and fast."

"You've never been drunk before, have you?" Luke asks.

I shake my head, "No!"

The two boys laugh at my freaking out. Assholes. I do as Nick suggested, and lie back on my sleeping bag. I close my eyes and try to sleep. Maybe I can sleep through the alcohol.

"Hey," a whispering voice wakes me up from my nap.

When I open my eyes, I immediately feel dizzy. The whole forest is spinning and there's an awful feeling in my stomach. "Huh?"

"How are you feeling?" The whispering voice is Luke.

I giggle, realize how fun his name was to say. _Luke. Luke. Luke._

"Well, that answers my question." He says.

I sit up, quickly, wanting to look at my companion. Everything spins even faster and I press a hand to my face, so fast I accidentally smack myself. It makes me giggle again. "That didn't even hurt. In fact, my face feels numb." I smack my cheeks with the tips of my fingers.

Luke sits up and grabs both of my wrists. "You're bein' really loud, Clem. Tone it down a notch."

"You're no fun, Luke," I pout.

"And you're really drunk." He responds flatly.

"That makes a lot of sense. I've never been drunk, you know? It's a lot of fun!" I just can't stop giggling like an idiot.

"Clementine- Jesus, Clem!" Luke presses his palm flatly against my mouth, stifling my titters. He pulls his hand away when I finally stop.

"I guess you don't think my laugh is cute anymore." I say, recalling our conversation from the first night I met him.

Luke gives me a half-smile, "If you weren't putting all of our lives at risk, I'd think it was the cutest thing in the world. Everything about you is cute, Clem."

I look at Luke, and even though my vision is blurred, I can still make out all of his features. His big, brown eyes, his strong jaw, his nose, and his lips. _Oh, his lips._

"You're so cute," I breathe. I know that it's the alcohol making me brave enough to say it, but I believe it sober.

I touch his face and he kind of cradles it in my hand, before pulling back.

"You should go to sleep, Clementine. You're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow." He says, sounding kind of disappointed.

"I don't want to go to sleep," I pout, but I still take his advice. I was awake and drunk, but my body was aching, crying out for sleep.

Luke lays down next to me, and I can see his eyes taking in the entirety of my being. "I don't want to sleep either. I wanna stay like this with yo-"

I don't hear the last bit of his words, my body pulling my mind into a deep, much-needed slumber.

* * *

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." I hiss at Nick.

"What's the matter, Clem? You gotta... headache?" He asks, as he bangs two rocks together next to me, running away before I can chase after him.

Luke walks up next to me, when Nick is far away enough. "How're you feeling?" He asks.

I shake my head slowly, so slowly. "Like shit. My head hurts and I feel like I'm gonna puke, and my mouth is so dry."

"Your first hangover," He grins, "You'll never forget it."

"Unlike last night," I say.

"What?" His voice is thick with... _disappointment_?

I look over at him, "I don't remember any of last night, except waking up after drinking all that moonshine, then going to sleep. I know something happened, but I just don't remember it."

Luke looks forward, his eyes focusing on something in the distance. "Yeah, I wish I could tell ya what happened."

"Did you drink too much too?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "No, I didn't. I'm just not exactly sure what happened myself."

The tone in his voice and that weird look in his eyes told me that he was lying. Luke remembered what happened last night, but he wasn't telling me. Could it have been that bad?

Did I fuck something up?

_What did I do? _


	10. Family

**A/n: **Two chapters in one day! I feel good! lol Thank you all for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

I leaned against a tree, trying to look anywhere and focus on anything but the sound of pee hitting the ground. Sarah and Rebecca needed to pee and I was elected to go with them, just to keep an eye out.

"Clem, could you help me out here?" Rebecca called, and I rolled my eyes before going to help her.

She was squatting on a tree, using it to support her, but she was, apparently stuck. And her pants were still down. "If I move too far forward, I'll land on my stomach. So, could you just pull me up?"

I grab her hands and pull her up, looking up at the sky. I've never seen another girl's... _that,_ and I certainly didn't want that to change. I'm pretty sure that Rebecca notices me avoiding it because she chuckles.

"Avoid it all you want, Clem," She grins, "But you might have to help when it's time for this baby to come out of there."

Sarah walks up to us, finally finished with her business too, "You're gonna help deliver the baby?" She asks me, her tone full of awe.

"What? No! I don't even know _how_ to deliver a baby!" I protest.

"Oh, I'm sure my dad knows. I bet he'd let you help him, if you wanted!"

"No, no, no-"

"That sounds like a great idea, Sarah. I'll make sure to tell your dad that Clementine would like to help with the delivery." Rebecca smiles at me and I feel my stomach sink. I've killed countless amounts of zombies, I've seen people be killed in front of me, I mean, I've seen countless horrors. But _childbirth?_ I don't know if I was ready for that.

"Childbirth is a beautiful thing, Clem." Rebecca says as we head back to the rest of the group, "I hear. I don't actually know."

"And babies are super cute." Sarah adds.

"I don't know if the baby is gonna look cute coming out though." I mumble.

My words aren't heard though, as Rebecca and Sarah talk about how cute the baby is going to be and how excited they were about the baby's arrival. They started going through baby names; Clara, Chase, Xavier, Sandra, Adam...

"What do you think, Clem? Any name you like?" Rebecca asks.

I look forward, trying to think of names I like. _Lee, Doug, Carley, Chuck, Christa, Kenny, Ben, Katjaa, Molly_... But those people were my heroes and I don't care whose baby it was, they didn't deserve any of those names.

"Not really," I answer, and even though Rebecca looks disappointed, she doesn't press the topic.

* * *

Before long, we reach the rest of the group. They ask how the trip was and the two other girls announce my "plans" to help Carlos in the delivering of the baby. The doctor seems surprised by it, but agrees to let me help when the time comes.

I don't even want to be there. I want literally nothing to do with this baby, but apparently I will be there to help bring it into this world.

As we move along, Luke and I lead the group, walking next to each other.

"I didn't know you wanted to help with Rebecca's baby." He says.

"I don't." I respond flatly, "But Rebecca volunteered me for it, without my permission."

"You sound mad."

I bite my lip before I respond. "My friend Christa, the one I was with before we got separated, was pregnant too. She lost her baby after her boyfriend died, so she lost them both at the same time." I pause and apologize, "I don't mean to open up like that. It just kind of... came out, I guess."

"No, it's okay. It seems like you've gone through too much to keep to yourself. I don't mind if you want to, you know, talk about it and stuff." Luke responds.

I look over at him and he seems genuinely concerned about me. I want to trust him, but I'm so scared. Of what, I'm not exactly sure. Maybe I could let him in in small intervals.

"Well, I guess, what bothers me the most is that Christa lost her baby. She lost everyone. But here's Rebecca, pregnant, healthy, and with her husband and... It just seems so unfair." I confess, "I mean, I know life isn't fair and all, so you don't need to tell me that."

Luke nods in affirmation, "I get it. Life sucks, but you know what? Family is really important, especially now."

A realization washes over me. "Is that why," I lower my voice even more than it already was, "Is that why Carver is after us?"

Luke coughs and looks back at Rebecca before answering. "Ah, that's not really our business. And I'd really rather not get in the middle of it."

"Seems like we're already in the middle of it." I snort, but I take his answer as confirmation of my suspicions.

Alvin and Rebecca are married and they were at Carver's camp together, where they met the rest of the group (presumably). Rebecca had an affair with Carver, then they escaped. Now Carver wants to bring back the group, or at least, his baby. If it's his baby. I suppose there was always a chance it could be Alvin's baby. But by the way Alvin cares about his wife, there's no doubt in my mind that, even with the affair and the possibility that the baby might be Carver's, Alvin would raise the baby as his own. Adult relationships are complicated.

I shake my head, thinking about it all made it hurt.

"Wanna know what worries me?" Luke asks.

Not really, I think, but I encourage him to open up to me.

"How the hell are we gonna raise a baby?" He asks me, "We have no formula, no diapers. The baby is going to cry and attract lurkers. I don't know how the fuck we're going to do it."

Before I can stop myself, the words come out of my mouth, "That's not _our_ problem."

"Maybe it's not _your_ problem," He says, "But it's definitely mine. These guys are my family, Clem."

"They're not _mine_." I reply, shortly.

Luke doesn't say anything in response. It seems kind of like I've hurt his feelings or something.

_Maybe I should apologize. Maybe I should take it back. _

We walk until the sun starts to set and we begin to make another crappy camp. We all sit around the small campfire Nick erected for us, and eat our day's ration of food. Rebecca and Alvin discuss more baby names, with Sarah pitching in every now and again. Carlos just watches his daughter with a look in his eyes that I recognized from when Lee was alive. Nick and Luke were talking, their voices too quiet for anyone to hear. By the looks on their faces, the topic was a serious one.

I look around, not speaking to anyone, but still taking them all in. No, these people weren't my family. They weren't my mom and dad. They weren't Lee. They weren't Kenny, Katjaa, or Duck. They weren't Christa and Omid.

So, if they weren't my family, why was I here?

* * *

"Why is it that you're always the last one to sleep?" Luke whispers to me. We're the only ones still awake, laying next to the campfire.

I shrug, "I'm not a big fan of sleep. It means I'm vulnerable until I wake up."

"Maybe you should be vulnerable even when you're awake." He says.

I shake my head, "Being vulnerable is stupid. And stupid gets you_ killed_."

"So, shutting everyone out is a better choice?"

"What makes you think I'm shutting everyone out?"

"You've been with us for a few days now and we've gone through some shit together. We consider you one of us. Why don't you consider us part of you?"

I can feel his eyes staring at me through the darkness. I want to say something- anything- to justify my earlier words, but I can't really. Nothing that wouldn't make me more vulnerable than I've ever been. But maybe, that's exactly what I needed.

I reach my hand out, looking for his. When I find it, I lace my fingers through his and I can feel him tense up.

"If I let you guys be my family and I lose you too... I don't know what I'll do. And just knowing that makes me feel weak. I can't be weak. Not anymore." I whisper. "I can't let you guys make me weak."

Luke grips my hand tight in his before bringing it against his cheek. "You're not weak, Clementine, you're strong. Stronger than all of us, I have no doubt about that. You could never be weak."

"Then why do you make me feel like I am?" I blurt out. I was scared. I was frustrated. I just wanted it all to go away.

Luke doesn't answer me. Instead he shuffles closer to me and pulls my body close to his. He rests his head on top of mine and wraps his arms around me. I let myself curl into his chest and I can feel my body immediately relax.

It wasn't an answer to my question, but it was a solution to a problem I didn't know I had.


	11. Getting To Know You

**A/n: **Hi, guys! I have a question: Am I setting these two up too soon? I'm kind of worried. Like I know it's the eleventh chapter, but technically speaking they've known each other for less than a week. Leave me your thoughts and suggestions in the reviews, please! I totally understand both sides, so some outside opinions would be most appreciated~

* * *

I wake up to the unfamiliar feeling of arms wrapped around me. Before I panic, I remember the night before, and slowly peel myself out of Luke's grasp. Maybe it was rude, but I didn't want anyone to see the way we had been sleeping. I didn't want them to think that there was anything going on between me and Luke.

I stood up and stretched, looking at the sun just barely peaking over the mountains. It was just about time for everyone to wake up, the sooner we hit the road, the better. But as I looked around, I couldn't help but notice that someone was missing.

"G'morning, I guess," Nick's voice said from behind me. "Couldn't help but notice the way you two were laying last night. Was that on purpose or did you two just _accidentally_ cuddle?"

I turn around and face him, "There's nothing going on, dude."

"You sure? Because the way you were sleeping says otherwise." Nick kicks the ground softly, "Whatever, that's not my fucking business. But the way you talk about it seems like you really don't give a shit about him."

"That's not true." I protest weakly. It wasn't. I cared about Luke, but.. I don't know, I felt so conflicted. I liked him, in every way. He was a good guy, funny, nice. He was really fucking cute. But I had only known him for a few days. A few days. What did that say about me?

"Clem, listen, I'm not gonna judge you. I get it. You have... _needs_. But if you hurt Luke, I'll drag you out to the middle of nowhere and make sure that you can never find us again."

Nick locks eyes with me and I begin to feel uncomfortable. I didn't think I was hurting Luke. I had no intention of using Luke. Why was Nick threatening me? I don't respond, there wasn't anything I could say, so I nod at him.

Soon, Rebecca wakes up, and presses a hand against the small of her back. "We need to find beds really fucking soon. I don't know how much longer I can sleep on the ground." She grumbles.

She places both her hands on Alvin's sleeping form and shakes him vigorously, waking him up. He fumbles around for his glasses, but doesn't complain much. In fact, Alvin seems kind of chipper. I realized then that he was a morning person, and I couldn't even begin to imagine being so happy so early in the morning.

Next to wake up is Carlos, who gently wakes his daughter up.

Luke is the last one to wake up. As his eyes flutter open, they begin to dart around confusedly, before they land on me. He gives me a sweet smile and I try to reciprocate.

"Morning, Luke. I don't think I've ever seen you sleep in before." Rebecca comments, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Luke shrugs, "I haven't slept that well in a long time, I guess." His eyes are still on me and it makes me feel like running away. I think everyone knows that Luke is looking at me because soon, all their eyes are focused on me.

"Let's hit the road," I say, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get there!" I try to put in a chipper note in my words, but I know they can tell that I'm faking it. Regardless, everyone gathers their things and we begin to head out.

Luke and I lead the group and I can feel him trying to scoot closer and closer without me noticing. After a few hours of him inching close, I can feel the tips of his fingers touch mine and I pull my hand away.

I look back and notice that no one is watching us. Except Nick, whose really only watching me.

"Are you okay, Clem?" Luke asks.

I face forward, trying my best to avoid looking at him. "I'm fine." I say, sounding a lot harsher than I meant to.

He lowers his voice, "Please, tell me I didn't dream up last night."

I bite my lip. "No, you didn't." I say, matching his low volume, "But you realize we've only known each other for a few days, right? I don't even know you."

"I know," he acquiesces, "But when it's right, it's right. Right? I mean, I thought maybe you liked me too."

"I do," I admit.

"Then what's the problem?" He asks. I can hear the frustration building in his voice.

"I don't know anything about you." I answer to the best of my abilities. I didn't know what else to say.

The tension between us is almost tangible, when finally he speaks up.

"My favorite color is red." Luke says.

"What?"

"My favorite color is red," He repeats, "There's something you probably didn't know."

"Oh," Is all I say.

"I was an only child," He continues, "Nick has been my friend since grade school. My favorite food is salmon, but after living off of it for the past few week, I gotta admit that I'm a little tired of it. I was on the football team in high school, running back, varsity. I lost my parents at the beginning of all this. I was pretty close to them, I mean, we didn't have the best relationship, but I did love 'em."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask.

"You said you didn't know anything about me. I thought, maybe, I would tell you some stuff about me. That way you wouldn't feel weird about... You know..."

"That's..." I don't know how to describe it. I was flattered, actually, that he was willing to tell me things about him, just so that I'd be more comfortable with... whatever it was that we had going on. "That's actually kind of cute."

"I know," He grins, "I do recall you telling me, in a very intoxicated state, that you thought I was 'super cute'. Is that true even when you're sober?"

I can feel my face burning up and he laughs. _Did I really say that?_

"You don't need to answer, Clem. It's written all over your face."

I shove him with my shoulder, "Shut up! You're not that cute. You're only really fucking cute, but if you push it, you'll be demoted to 'so cute'. So, I'd watch my step if I were you." We both laugh, and I can feel him inch closer to me again. "You should tell me more about yourself."

"Hmm?" He muses, "My favorite shows as a kid were Power Rangers and Batman. I'm actually kind of a comic book nerd. I can also fall asleep nearly anywhere. I hate coffee, I think it's something people only like when they're old. I hate the color blue, it's so generic." He pauses, "Now it's your turn."

"My turn?" I ask, and he nods, "Um... My parents name's were Ed and Diana. My favorite color is purple and my least favorite is gray. I love spaghetti, but hate grapefruits. I didn't really watch cartoons much as a kid, but I loved to read books. Real books, not comic books. I had a pet hamster when I was a kid. He chewed through his cage one time and ate our last box of cookies. Like, the actual box with some of the cookies."

"See? Now we know stuff about each other. We're not total strangers anymore." Luke grins.

"I guess you're right." I concede.

This time, when his hand reaches out for mine, I let him take it.


	12. Rough

**A/n: **I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated! I promise a long break like this won't happen for a long, long time! I love you all, and thank you for your reviews! You're the best~ *Awkwardly hugs you all*

* * *

The next two days pass by uneventfully. Comparatively, we didn't have much walker trouble. Never more than two or three at a time. We were all hungry, but we weren't starving just yet.

Nick's depression, however, seemed only to worsen. He didn't talk to anyone much and he seemed to always be looking at the ground. There was an air of deep sadness surrounding him, and even though we tried, there was nothing we could do to make him feel better. We could only let him be sad.

"Does Nick seem okay to you?" Luke whispers to me as we head towards a bridge we spotted. We weren't going to cross the bridge right away, we didn't even know if it was safe. So, we were going to scout the area first.

I shake my head, "He's depressed, obviously."

"Well, what should we do? I mean, I don't trust Nick to tie his own shoes at this point." Luke says.

I shrug, "What can we do, really?"

"Nothing, I guess." He says, "I'm just worried about that kid. Keep an eye on him, will you?"

I don't answer. I like Nick, but I wasn't his guardian. He wasn't _my_ responsibility. But I felt bad for feeling that way, I mean, what if Lee had felt the same? I wouldn't be here today.

We reach the edge of the forest, the rest of the group followed sluggishly behind, the only thing ahead of us was the bridge. "Clementine, can you climb up that rock and scope out the area?"

"Yeah," I climb up the rock, and grab the binoculars, peering through them. I take in the sight of endless trees, but not too much else.

"She better see something," Alvin grumbles, "We've been walking for a damn week."

"We need to find some shelter." Carlos's tired voice says.

"There's a lift or something." I say.

"A chair lift?" Luke asks, "Must be that ski resort."

I put down the binoculars and look down. A sadness washed over me. "I've never been skiing."

"Bec and I went once." Alvin says.

"It wasn't pretty." His wife comments, a hint of amusement in her voice.

I lift the binoculars and keep looking. "There's a building on the mountain."

"How big is it?" Luke asks.

"Pretty fucking big." I answer.

"That sounds like a good place to spend the night." He comments.

"There's also a small station house by the bridge."

"How big is it?" Carlos asks.

"It's pretty small." I say, not even trying to hide the disappointment in my voice. Finally, I look at the bridge through the binoculars. There wasn't a lot of walkers, from what I could see, but we were still pretty far away. I couldn't make out any real details. For all I knew, there could be enough to overrun us. "There's the bridge."

"Does it look passable?"

"I... I think so." I answer Luke, "I can't really see much though." I put the binoculars back in my backpack and shimmy down the big rock, before planting my butt on it.

"We have to cross that bridge," Carlos says, "Let's go."

"Hold on, now. We can't just go sprinting across that bridge. If we get spotted, we're gonna be trapped." Luke objects.

"Going around this lake will take too long." Carlos counters. I don't think he meant to sound so irritated, but he did. He didn't let us know, but I guess he was just as tired and hungry as we were.

"Right," Luke concedes, "But, look, we've got no idea who's out there. I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over."

"You think splitting up the group is a good idea?" Carlos asks condescendingly.

Luke shrugs, "I never said it was a _good i_dea. But it's better than riskin' everyone at once."

"What's your plan?" Alvin asks before Carlos can object.

Luke looks at me for a second, "Clem and I can sneak across, low and slow, and make sure no one is waiting for us on the other side."

"We'll have a tough time covering you from back here." Alvin warns.

Luke kind of frowns, "Well, we'll just turn back if it gets hairy. But it's gonna be fine, okay? We'll signal you guys in ten minutes. Just watch for a light at the far side."

The group looks around before deciding that this wasn't the worst plan in the world. Close, but definitely not the worst.

"I can go too." Nick volunteers.

I look at Luke, not wanting to be the one to tell Nick that he shouldn't go.

"You stay with the group." Luke orders calmly.

"I'm _fine_, Luke." Nick protests, obviously mad that Luke was doubting his ability.

Before Luke can respond, Carlos approaches him, unhappy. "I don't like this."

Luke turns around, grabbing me by my wrist and gently pulling me with him. "Yeah, well, when's the last time you liked anything, Carlos?"

"Luke, I can cover you." Nick insists.

We stop and Luke lets go of my wrist. He looks at me and gestures forward with his head. "Come on."

I bite my lip. He didn't even acknowledge Nick. It was kind of harsh, but I don't say anything. We walk side by side towards the bridge, silence settling between us for a couple minutes, before Luke decides to speak up.

"Hey, uh, sorry about that. I could just really use your eyes and, like I said, I don't trust Nick to tie his own shoes right now. They're just still on edge about that whole Carver thing."

"It's been five days," I say, "You don't think we've lost him by now? Why doesn't he just give up?"

Luke pauses before speaking again. "What's the most important thing in this world, Clem? What does everyone want?"

I glare at him. He's dodging my question. "Safety." I answer. I can tell by the look on his face that that's not the answer he was looking for.

"Listen," he continues, "What's the one thing a guy would walk hundreds of miles to get back?"

I didn't know what he wanted me to say, so I just say what _I_ would walk hundreds of miles to get back. "Food." I grin.

"Come on, Clem," Luke says, "It's family. It's a tough world out there without people you can trust. Anyways, you can ask Rebecca, okay? I'm not gonna get in the middle of it."

I cross my arms, not revealing to Luke that I had it figured out the mystery paternity of Rebecca's unborn child.

"We've all made mistakes," Like says, "We've all done things we regret."

I look down, "I know what's that like." Countless events play out in my mind. Running away, shooting Lee, letting that lady shoot Omid. I shake my head, trying to get rid of the burning feeling behind my eyes.

He doesn't say anything, and I know it's because he doesn't want to make me feel even more sad. We continue walking until we reach the bridge. Before us, are only two walkers, one of which was sitting (I didn't even know walkers could sit) behind a walk.

"Hmm," Luke muses, "We can't shoot. Too much noise."

"Let's take 'em." I say confidently.

"I like your style." Luke grins, looking at me.

I wink, "I know."

We scoot a little closer before kneeling down, looking at the two walkers.

"I got the tall one, you get shorty." Luke says.

I take in the situation. I could take the tall one, I muse, but I don't want to overexert myself, just in case. Luke would have a much easier time with him. I didn't really have to make a point.

"Got it, I'll take the small one."

"Good, let's do this."

We stand up. He pulls out his machete and I reach behind me and grab the hammer from the shed. It's been my weapon of choice ever since. Kind of like my good luck charm. We walk towards out respective walkers. I lift my hammer and smash it through the walkers head.

"Whoa." Luke comments after he kills his walkers.

I pull the hammer, but it's doesn't come out.

"Go on, it should come out with a good pull."

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, I know. I've done this before. In a shed, remember?" I look back at him, and he looks down.

I was over the whole shed thing, but sometimes I felt like they needed to be reminded that they were assholes to me. And they should be grateful that I didn't just take all their food and leave. I focus my attentions on getting my hammer out of the walkers head. I jerk it left, and then right, crying out, as though my cries give me strength, before it's finally free.

Luke walks up beside me. "Nick work," he says, patting my back with a lot of force.

I raise my eyebrow at him. "Not too rough." I chide him.

"Sorry," he grins, pulling me to him and placing his mouth against my hairline, planting a soft kiss there, "I'll try to be more gentle."

I pull away and grin at him. "You don't have to be gentle all the time."

He touches the tip of my nose with his finger, "I'll definitely remember that." He then turns around and we're both facing the bridge, "You ready to clear the path?"

I nod, "I've never been more ready in my life."


	13. The Bridge

**A/n: **I might have to change this story's rating to M soon too. Oh no. Well, thank you all for the reviews! This chapter's kind of short, but it's a big one, I think. I hope you enjoy it~

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Luke is looking down at me with his arms crossed and a cocky smile on his face.

"You need help?"

I look up at him, frowning deeply. I don't want to admit it, but we both know I do. One of the towers of the bridge had collapsed. It didn't mean the bridge wasn't passable, but we had to squeeze through the small space under it because neither of us were tall enough to climb over it. Luke had fit no problem, and I would've fit too, if it weren't for my... Well, my boobs

I hold out my arms, "Pull me. Not too hard though."

Luke grabs my hands and nods, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to damage the goods."

"Fuck off." I can barely gasp when he pulls me through. The pressure on my chest makes me feel like it's going to collapse. It doesn't last for long though; Luke had managed to pull my entire body out from under the tower. He lets go of my hands and helps me stand up.

"Are you okay?" He asks, "You seem like you're in a lot of pain."

I nod, but I certainly don't feel okay. "They just hurt... A lot."

"Should I, maybe, take a look at them?"

"Luke!" I scold him, "You can't use this as an opportunity to look at my boobs!"

He lifts his hands in surrender, "I swear, I'm not. If you want, I'll turn around and you can make sure you're... in one piece. Or two pieces?"

I sigh, "No, maybe you should take a look. I can't really see every inch of them, you know?" I grab the hem of my shirt and I pull it over my stomach, before I pause stop. "This is for purely medical reasons."

Luke nods, "Yes, purely medical. I swear." He crosses his heart with his index finger.

I give him a suspicious look, but finally decide to pull my shirt up over my aching chest. His eyes widen as they become glued to my chest.

"Nice."

"_Goddamn it_, Luke." I shake my head and start to pull my shirt back down when he stops me.

"No, you're actually a little bruised." He says suddenly, "Here," he points to an area, "Here," another one, "and here. They're all kind of purple. No open wounds or anything though."

I pull my shirt down, "Thank, I guess."

"Anytime, Clementine." Luke grins.

I roll my eyes and we walk along the bridge. We don't get very far when we notice a walker crawling towards us, gurgling and moaning. The sound attracts the attention of a female walker, who is in front of us, and another walker that is rapidly approaching us from behind. Luke was right, we were spotted and now we're trapped.

"Shit." Luke says quietly, before pulling his machete out from its sheath. He walks towards the zombie that's coming for us from behind.

I grab my hammer and grip it tightly, feeling my knuckles becoming white. I face the walker closest to me, when I hear the cracking of wood and the splashing of something into the water below us. I feel my heart drop when I turn around and see the hole in the bridge and Luke nowhere in sight. I run to the hole and look down.

"I'm alright, Clem!" Luke yells, "I'm just stuck."

He had his arms wrapped around a thick metal pipe and had one of his legs propped up on another one. Unfortunately, the walker he was going to kill had also fallen and, although it had been impaled, it was still trying to get to Luke. I stretch my arm out as far as I can, trying to grab him but I can't.

"I can't reach." I cry out.

"It's okay, Clem. We'll figure something out." He looks up at me, try to remain calm. "Behind you!"

I lift my head and see a big, male walker coming for me at an alarming pace. "Oh shit."

I raise my hammer and wait for the walker to come close enough to me for me to incapacitate it. I dig my hammer into the back of its knees, bringing it down, before striking it in the face. My hammer gets stuck and the walker isn't dead. I pull my hammer as hard as I can, struggling to get it free as well as not getting bitten. Finally, I'm able to not only pull it out of the walker's head, but the force sends me stumbling backwards, almost over the edge of the bridge. I force my body forward so that I don't fall into the river, but now I have two hungry walkers way too close to me and I'm less than an inch away from the edge of the bridge.

I steady my body before I jump to the left. I overestimate how much space I have though, because once again, my feet slip, but this time I'm actually falling. One of the walkers stumbled forward in an attempt to grab me, but falls over the edge. I'm relieved but then dismayed. I have no choice but to let my hammer fall into the abyssal river so that I can hold onto the bridge. My feet dangle below me, and I try to gain traction, to pull myself up onto the bridge.

My arms are burning and aching and I fee like they might give out, when I finally pull myself up. I narrowly dodge the female walker as she reaches for me, and once again I'm on the deck of the bridge. On the ground are Luke's machete and a metal pipe. I run forward and grab the machete. The female walker is now close enough to grab me, when I swing the machete barely nicking the side of her face. I groan, the weapon is so unfamiliar in my hands, if I didn't learn how to handle it now, the female walker would eat me. She comes for me once again and I thrust the machete into her mouth. She's struggling against me and the machete and I'm putting all my strength into forcing it deeper inside of her head. My ears become filled with the sounds of gore and bones, which used to make me sick, but in this moment brings me relief. The female walker's body slumps to the ground.

I look to the hole in the bridge; my last order of business. I put the machete down, I didn't want to risk dropping it, and I pick up the metal pipe.

"Luke!" I call out.

"Here, give it here!"

I hand the pipe to Luke, and he takes it and puts it under his body. He uses it to assist him in standing up. He grabs the outside of the hole and pulls himself out of the hole. He leans over and puts his hands on the top of his thighs. He breathes in deeply several times. I step back giving him space to breathe. After a few minutes of him steadying his breath, he finally turns to face me.

"Are you oka-"

He picks me up, lifting me off the ground, and presses his mouth against mine. His lips move fervently, hungrily, as one of his hands moves into my hair, gripping it tightly, almost painfully. My head is spinning and my heart beats so hard against my chest, I feel like it's gonna break my ribs. My body responds faster than my mind does and I'm kissing him back with just as much vigor. It feels like I'm in the desert and he is an oasis. I just want to drown in him.

I feel dizzy when he finally pulls away from me. I look up at him with half-lidded eyes.

"I feel much better now." He grins, before planting a chaste kiss on my forehead.


	14. Strangers

**A/n: **Ugggh, this chapter is long. So long. I'm sorry. Plus, there seems to be some more Click rather than Cluke going on in this chapter. OwO I hope you enjoy it though! Don't forget to review, you cutie pies~

* * *

Luke's eyes widen and he slowly turns me around. My eyes search for whatever it is that he's looking at, wondering what it could it. I see a human-like figure and I feel myself tense up. Is it a walker? Or is a person? He walk towards up in a straight line, without stumbling, so I figure it's a person. I feel my body release some tension.

"You see him?" Luke asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"Just play it cool," He says, "And you do the talking."

"What? Why me?"

"Cause I don't want to get into a fight." Luke answers, plainly, "I mean, do you really think he'd shoot a pretty girl? Just play it cool. And don't make any sudden movements. And don't piss him off. And don't tell him anything. You know what, on second thought, maybe I should do the talking."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Goddamn it, Luke." I look at the man again, who is much closer than before, but still close enough to shoot and kill us if he wanted. "Is he with Carver?"

"It's hard to see," Luke says, squinting his eyes, "But I don't think so."

I roll my eyes and step forward, in front of Luke. The man is a few yards away from us, definitely able to kill us if he wanted, but he has his gun pointed down.

"Well, who are you?" The man asks.

"Well, who's askin'?" Luke responds.

"I thought I was doing the talking." I mutter under my breath, earning a nudge from Luke. _Whatever._ "I'm Clementine," I answer the man, honestly, "And this is Luke."

"Clementine and Luke," He repeats after me. He walks even closer to us, and now I'm able to pick out details in his face. He looks like he's of Asian descent, with short black hair, and a clean goatee. "Huh. You don't look like assholes. Are you assholes? No offense or anything, but you know how it is out here. You run into a lot of assholes."

I cross my arms and smirk. "_I'm_ not an asshole." I say, looking at Luke.

He looks at me and smiles, "Are you calling me an asshole?"

This whole time the man is walking closer to us and now we could shake his hand if we wanted to. "You folks headed north like everyone else?"

"Everyone else?" Luke asks.

The man nods, "I see at least one group a day move through here. You all look the same. It's like a great migration of the dazed and confused."

I step closer to the man, "Have you seen someone named Christa?" I can't keep the hopefulness out of my voice. I needed him to say yes. I needed to know if she was still alive.

"Christa? Maybe."

"Really?" I ask.

"Nah, I mean, a lot of people come through here. I don't know."

I feel my heart sink. I can tell he feels bad for giving me false hope, but I should have known better than to hope. I don't say anything else, finding myself looking at the ground.

"I gotta say, you two look like shit." The man says, a friendly smile on his face, "If you need food, I've got some canned stuff in that station back there."

Luke and I exchange glances. "Well, that's awful nice of you," Luke says, "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I've got plenty." The man answers.

"Well, alright then. Thank you."

There's a small moment of silence between the three of us. This man, this total stranger, was willing to help us. It was almost unbelievable; too good to be true.

"Hey, no problem. It's nice running into some friendly faces out here. Like I said, I've got food and supplies back in the station and if you want..." The man's words slow down as he looks past us, at something, or someone, behind us. "What the fuck man?"

Luke and I turn around and we see Nick running towards us his rifle in tow. He lifts his rife and the man lifts his as well; Luke and I are smack-dad in between them. I look back and forth between the two of them. I don't want Nick to shoot this kind stranger, but I also don't want the stranger to shoot Nick. Something in my gut told me that there was no way to convince them not to shoot each other though. As the stranger puts his finger on the trigger and begins to squeeze, Luke starts to plead for Nick's life.

"No, no, no, no! He's wi-with us!"

The stranger releases the trigger, pulling only slightly away from his gun. Oh thank God, he wasn't going to shoot Nick. Now, we needed to make sure Nick didn't shoot either.

"Nick! No!" Luke yells.

"Don't shoot!" I cry out, but before my words reach Nick, I feel Luke's arm around me as he forces me onto the ground.

The loud_ bang!_ of a gun resonates throughout my ears and a chill runs down my spine. When Luke and I look up, we see the stranger holding his throat, his hand covered in blood. He gurgles, trying to say something, but no words come out. He lifts his gun to shoot, trying to stumble over to Nick, but he's walking sideways, until he topples over the edge of the bridge and into the abyssal river. We run over to the edge of the bridge, watching as his body hits the water and disappears.

Luke frowns before turning around swiftly and storming over to Nick. "I told you not to shoot!"

"What? Who was that guy?" Nick asks, confused.

"He was going to help us." I say quietly. I don't want to make Nick feel bad, but I was dismayed. He shot a kind stranger, something rarer than food, water, and shelter these days.

Luke steps towards Nick, almost challengingly. "Damn it, Nick. I fucking told you not to shoot."

"How was I supposed to hear you?" Nick growls, "You gave me a clear shot!"

Luke looks around, "That shot rang out for miles. We have to get off this bridge. Let's go."

He gestures with his hand to the rest of our group, who had followed slowly behind Nick. I shook my head, as we lead the group to the station house. There's a long log, as Rebecca lets out a long sigh as she takes a seat, holding her swollen belly. Sarah sits on the ground next to her, picking at the grass. The group collects into a circle, an uneasy silence between us all. They wanted to know what happened, and honestly, I didn't want to talk about it.

"So, what the hell happened back there?" Rebecca asks, breaking the silence.

"It looked like he had a gun on you." Alvin comments.

Nick speaks up before Luke or I can. "That asshole drew on me! He was about to shoot!"

Luke turns around and faces Nick again. He's so pissed, I'm surprised there wasn't steam coming out of his ears. He looked like he was close to punching Nick. "Oh, was he?" Luke asks, irritation prevalent in his voice.

"I'm telling you man, he drew first." Nick says, sounding like he was pleading.

"Well, that's not what it looked like to me."

"Fuck you, Luke. You've been on my case the whole week."

I closed my eyes. I was so tired of hearing these two fight. "Both of you, shut the fuck up."

Both of them look at me incredulously; Nick looks pissed, Luke looks surprised, and kind of hurt. Alvin turns to me, I guess he realized that I was the only neutral person that seen what had actually happened.

"What did you see, Clem? Was the guy going to shoot?" He asks.

I shake my head, "I don't know. I don't think so. But Nick didn't... He didn't know."

"Oh, fuck off. I'm not a little kid, Clementine." Nick growls.

"Either way," Luke intervenes, "You coulda hit one of us."

"Yeah, but I didn't." Nick says, focusing his hostility on Luke.

Luke sighs, running his hands through his hair, "Look, I... I know Pete was close to you Nick, but you can't-"

"Don't fucking talk about him." Nick growls, his voice low and serious.

"Do you think he was with Carver?" Carlos asks, breaking the tension between the two.

"I don't know... No." Luke answers, "I don't think so. But he fell over."

"He fell off the damn bridge?" Alvin asks, like it's the most unbelievable thing he's heard in his l ife.

"We have to keep moving." Carlos says.

Rebecca shakes her head, her hand on her underbelly. "I can't. I need a minute."

"Fine," Carlos concedes, "Luke, can I talk to you alone?" With the emphasis he put on the word "alone" and the look he gave me kind of ticked me off. I wanted to tell him I was just as important to this group as any of them, but I didn't. I just didn't have the fight in me today. Luke just nods and the two of them walk far away enough for their words to go unheard by the rest of us. Nick grumbles something to himself, then walks over to the station house, taking a seat on an empty bench.

"Hey Clem," Alvin calls to me, "You got anything to eat? Bec's dying' over here."

"Alvin, I told you, I'm fine." The pregnant woman insists, waving her hand.

"Sorry, I'm out," I say, regretfully. I didn't like that Rebecca decided on having a baby in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, but that didn't mean I wouldn't feel pity for her. She must be hungrier than the rest of us. "But that man said he had food in the station house. I'll check it out and bring you whatever I find, okay?"

Alvin thanks me and Rebecca smiles at me gratefully. We weren't best friends, but we had started to finally trust each other.

I walk over to the station house, passing by Nick, hesitating before going inside. The way Nick had his head in his hands pulled on something in my chest. He was like a lost child, despite his protests. I wanted to coddle him and tell him it wasn't his fault. I take a seat next to him, before putting my hand on his lap. He looks at me and I immediately lift my hand and put it in my own lap.

"I don't know why I did that." I confess.

"It's okay." He says somberly.

I want to ask him if he's okay, but I already know the answer to that question. I also want to ask him if there's anything I can do to cheer him up, but I know there isn't. A long silence washes over us before he finally speaks up.

"I had to kill my mom." He starts, "That sounds weird when I say it out loud, huh? Well, Luke always used to push me. I never wanted to go into business with him. I remember when he sold me on it; his big plan. Some fuckin' plan. A case of beer in and he says, 'Nick, we're burnin' daylight.' And that was that. After six months, we were flat broke. But I didn't care, we were havin' fun. I wish I was like him. I wish I could just keep movin' all the time. But I'm just not... built like that. I'm sure there talking about me right now. 'Luke, he's becoming a danger to the group'." I can't help but laugh at his impression of Carlos, thick Spanish accent and all. He gives me a small smile. "Your laugh is almost as cute as Luke insists it is." He comments, "Anyways, who was that guy? I could've sworn he was holding you guys up."

I shrug, "He seemed nice."

Nick frowns, looking disappointed. "Damn. If Alvin is in front of me, he takes that shot. What a fuckin' mess." He pauses, and a look of worry crosses his face, "Maybe I am losing it. I don't know anymore. God, I'm hungry. What time is it anyways?" He looks down at his empty wrist, before slamming it down on the bench, "Damn it! I left my watch back at the cabin. It was Pete's. He gave it to me." He covers his face with a hand, "I left it back at the cabin."

_Oh!_ I reach behind me into my backpack, grabbing the watch I had taken the first night I had been at the cabin. I lightly tap his hand and he looks up, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree. I hand the watch over and he picks it up delicately, like it's the most precious thing in the world.

"Thank you, Clem," Nick says softly, "This means... Thank you, Clem. You know what, I'm gonna go talk to them." He stands up and heads towards Luke and Carlos.

Satisfied, I go inside the station house. It's empty and sparsely furnished. It smells like old wood and dust. There's a small cot and a trunk, and not much else. I walk over to a radio, trying to turn it on, but it stays silent. Radios always made me think of Carley. I smile sadly, before moving on. I move on to the black trunk, which has empty cans of food next to it, trying to open it up with my bare hands. It doesn't budge though and I feel myself start to become frustrated. I step away from the trunk, I needed to find something to pry it open. I look over at a wooden shelf that was built into the wall, on top of which, was a very nice survival with the initials "W.M" engraved on the hilt. I pick it up and unsheathe it, swinging it around, pleased with how it felt. I take the knife to the trunk and with a little elbow grease, I'm able to pop it open. Inside the trunk are two cans of peaches and some books. As if he knew, Alvin walked into the station house as soon as I picked up the cans.

"I thought we had it bad. Look at the dump." He comments, walking over to me. He looks at the cans of food in my hands, "I guess he did have food. Man, fuck Nick. I know he's lost a lotta people, but that doesn't give him an excuse to shoot up strangers."

"He was trying to help us." I say.

"Yeah, and someone died." Alvin says flatly, "I ain't no judge, but that's straight up murder in my book. I mean, have you ever known anyone to do anything like that?"

I bite my lip and contemplate telling him about Lilly shooting Carley in the face, but I decide against it. "Lots of people," I say, answering his question, "It happens all the time now."

"It's fucking crazy. Pardon my French."

I shrug and hand him a can of peaches. He grins as he takes it, looking at the picture of the girl on the front. "That's funny, she looks just like you."

_Yeah, if I was younger, whiter, and had a love of peaches_. Which I don't. I mean, peaches are food and food is good, but if I had a choice...

"Hey, Clem, there's not a lot of food here and Rebecca, well... She's eating for two. You think we can keep this between us?" He asks. He doesn't sound proud of what he's asking, but I understand him. Besides, he was right. Rebecca needed the food more than we did.

"Yeah, she can have it." I agree, giving him the can of peaches that I was saving for a rainier day.

He smiles and pats me on the head, "Thank you, Clem. I'm glad you're with us." He turns around and we begin to leave the station when he peers out the window, "What the hell is that?"

I look outside and notice it, a chill running down my spine. It's a walker horde. One, two, three... Five, ten, twenty, thirty of them, probably more. Alvin throws open the door and yells, "We've gotta problem here!"

"Yeah, we saw it," Luke says, "Alright, we're heading up." His voice was stern and serious. He was being particularly leader-y at the moment.

We move as fast as we can as a group, up the mountain. The ski resort is within our sights, but the sun had already gone most the way down. When we reach it, it was just breaking twilight. Carlos and Nick were surveying the cabin itself, much to the chagrin of Rebecca, who wanted to just go inside and rest her aching back. The resort is all boarded up and tightly secured. There could still be people in there, or there could be some walkers. Carlos and Alvin leave to check the other side of the resort, leaving Luke, Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, and myself. I walk over to the railing around the deck of the resort and hang myself over it, letting out a deep sigh.

"Well, it'd be good to know if anyone's back there." Luke says, approaching me from behind. He wraps his arms around my torso and I can hear Sarah let out a small gasp. I ignore it, I don't really care about Luke's public display of affection at the moment. He moves his head and looks over to the top of the ski lift, "Could probably get a better look from up top. You'd have an easier time getting up there. Feel like takin' a look?"

"No, but I will." I comply, pushing myself off the railing.

"It'll be like climbing up a tree house." He says, trying to cheer me up. "Just a really tall tree house. Made of steel."

"I had a tree house once." I comment. "I hated it." I shake my head and we both walk over to the metal bar pole with handles. I look up and it feels like my stomach is about to fall out my butt. I didn't like walkers, I hated heights. I take a deep breath.

"Just take it slow," Luke suggests, "And I'll catch you if you fall. Probably."

"Luke!" I say, turning around to punch him in his arm. He laughs at my feeble attempt at causing him pain (not that I was actually trying. Don't you think if I wanted to, I could beat him up?) I turn and focus my attention on climbing this pole. I grip the handles and pull myself up, climbing to the top as swiftly as I could. The sooner I got up there, the sooner I could put my feet on the ground again. Luke went on and on about how he and Nick used to jump rooftops downtown and how that was fun. He told me that the trick was to not look down and I told him that that was obvious and he should stop talking. I'm pretty high up when my foot slips and I feel myself hanging over the ground, the only thing keeping me up are my arms. They begin to burn and I begin to freak out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're fine. Just look at me, okay? You're fine, just- Just slow down for a second, okay?" Luke says, his voice steady as he tries to talk me through it.

"You just told me not to look down, you dumbass!" I yell at him, keeping my eyes squeezed shot..

"Good point." He agrees, "Sorry. You got your grip?"

I nod, "Yeah. Just stop distracting me."

"Alright, I'll do that." He says, "By the way, your butt is cute."

"Fuck off." I grumble. I finally reach the top of the ski lift and I can see the entire forest. I feel a small sense of accomplishment and I mentally pat myself on the back. I grab the binoculars from my backpack and peer through for... Well, I'm not sure. Anything unusual, I guess. I find the unusual something in the form of several lights. They almost look like headlights. I call out for Luke, but he doesn't respond. I look over the edge of the railing, but he wasn't there. A feeling of dread sinks into my body and I make my way down the pole as quickly as I can.

What was going on? Was he okay? Was everyone else okay?

As my feet hit the ground, I hear voices coming from the deck of the ski resort. I crouch down and head for where my group was. I wanted to lay low, just in case they needed me to stealthily take someone out. I listen in on their dispute, while slowly creeping up the them.

"Listen, everyone, stay calm." I hear Luke's voice say.

"Who are you? Are you trying to rob us?" I hear a female with a vaguely Indian accent ask. Okay, stranger number one.

"Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?" Rebecca snaps.

I creep up behind my group, standing behind Nick and next to Sarah. I can kind of see the other people. There's a balding man (stranger number two) and a very pretty Indian woman. There's someone else too, but I can't quite make out who it is.

"Everybody calm down." The balding man says.

"Hey man, you calm the fuck down." Alvin says, low and threateningly.

"Just tell us who you are." The bald man asks.

"We ain't no robbers," Alvin responds, "Put the gun down, man."

"Fuck that!" A voice says. It's a familiar voice, but it's not coming from anyone in our group. The voice was so familiar.

"Please, just do what he says." The Indian lady pleads.

I weave around my group, before making my way to the front, between Luke and Nick. I look around for the source of the voice. A man in a green jacket looks at me, his eyes widen, and he puts down his gun. I know him. I thought he was dead. I push Luke and Nick out of my way, standing in front of my group.

"Holy shit." I say, my voice cracking.

It's Kenny.


	15. Catching Up

**A/n: **Boring chapter, sorry! There will be Cluke in the next one, I promise, promise, promise! Please, read and review~

* * *

Time wasn't kind to Kenny, he looked ten years older from the last time I had seen him. The wrinkles around his eyes were deeper, his skin had become pale, his hair was gray, and he had a full beard. He almost looked like a different person, but he wasn't. I was looking at Kenny, he was breathing and alive.

Luke asks me if I knew him, but I can't respond. I was in shock, I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. Kenny and I just stare at each other, eyes wide.

"Clementine..?" He asks, his voice shaky.

I rush forward and wrap my arms around him. I squeeze him tight and he hugs me back. He smells like must, but I don't mind. He pulls away from me and puts a hand on my shoulder, smiling wide at me, his eyes twinkling. We don't sat anything yet, we're just both so happy that the other one isn't dead.

"I'll take that as a yes." The bald man says.

Kenny takes his hand off my shoulder, then looks at the group behind me. "These people with you?" He asks, and I nod, "We can talk inside then."

"Great, I just started dinner." The balding man says cheerfully.

Carlos and Sarah exchange looks. Sarah's was hopeful, but Carlos's was doubtful. "You sure you don't mind?"

"It's gonna storm soon, please come in."

We walk into the ski resort as one giant group, Kenny and I walking next to each other. We were both glowing. The place was huge and had electricity, which was what the wind turbine outside was for, I guess. There was even a Christmas tree inside. Was it Christmas time? I forgot that we used to have holidays. The balding guy introduced himself as Walt, and told me that Kenny and Sarita (the pretty Indian lady) arrived together, and had been staying with them for several weeks. He also said that since the place used to be a ski lodge, there is plenty of food. He goes on and on about how they had electricity and they usually kept the lights to a minimum, but when they found the Christmas decorations, they couldn't resist putting it all up. As Walt talks, Kenny flaps his hand open and closed and his making funny faces, mocking Walt. I try not to laugh, but I do.

"What's so funny?" Walt asks.

"Oh, nothing," Kenny lies, "Walt here is one smart son of a bitch. He makes a mean can of beans too." Kenny pats Walt on the shoulder.

Walt rolls his eyes, "You two should catch up. Please, make yourselves at home. You can leave your things over there."

My group eyes the area by the door suspicious. No one seems pleased.

"The hell we will." Rebecca snarls.

"Yeah, I'm holding onto my rifle, thanks." Nick adds.

"You're our guests here. There's no need to worry." Walt insists.

"Well, tell him to put his gun down then." Nicks says, looking at Kenny.

Kenny takes in a deep breath, looking unhappy. "Will you vouch for these people, Clem? If you tell me they're good, then we're good."

"Us? You were the one waving a gun around, man." Nick snaps.

"We're cool, okay? Hey, hey, we're cool." Luke says, interrupting Nick's rudeness.

My group was hungry and tired and cold. They were grumpy and mistrusting. But they were still good people, weren't they? They wouldn't hurt Kenny, Walt, or Sarita. My eyes locked onto Nick. He was nervous, he didn't trust these people, just like the kind stranger on the bridge. Any miscommunication could mean someone's life. But I would trust him. Please, don't let me down, Nick.

"They're cool." I answer with a shrug, like I wasn't having an internal battle with myself.

Kenny nods at me, then Sarita, before heading down the small steps and putting his gun down in the designated spot. I look over at Luke, pleadingly, who obliges me, followed hesitantly by Nick. The rest of the group is less than happy to follow, so I go and put my backpack in with the pile of stuff. Soon enough, everyone is following suit. I say a silent thank you to whatever God there is that no one presses the issue. Hopefully, the whole group could get along as one big entity.

"Good. Now if you'll all follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep." Kenny forces a friendly smile on his face.

I step forward first and follow him, with the rest of the group following behind me. Luke walks closest to me, and he touches my hand. He wraps his pinky around mine, but I gently pull away, shaking my head at him. He gives me a look of hurt, and looks away, but doesn't force it. Kenny leads us to what used to be the front desk, walking behind the counter, and grabbing a handful of keys that had plastic, yellow tags on them. He handed them out to us, giving only one to Alvin and Rebecca. My room was 106, Luke's was 109.

Sarita approaches the group. "Another thing is the rooms each has a private shower area. Don't use too much hot water though, because it's shared with the entire resort."

Rebecca's face lights up. "A hot shower? I can't believe it. I gotta go take one right now." Kenny points her to the stairway that led the way to all of the rooms. She hobbles up the stairs, Alvin holding her hand and supporting her the entire way.

"Well, I guess that's it." Kenny says, awkwardly, "Like Walt said, dinner'll be done soon, so sit tight til then." He focuses on me, "We've got some catching up to do, don't we?"

I nod and we walk over to the relaxation area next to the stairway. It was decorated with a red love-seat and two red chairs and had a burning fireplace. I was immediately warmed up when I took a seat on the love-seat, Kenny taking one next to me. It was so nice, not sitting on the hard ground, and having a fire that was safe and effective. I wanted to stay here forever.

Kenny looks at me and leans forward, touching the brim of my hat. "Still wearing this dirty ol' thing, huh?" He pauses, "You know, I half-expected Lee to walk up next to you. You guys were like two peas in a pod."

I look down immediately, trying not to let the tears come out._ Damn it, damn it_. I can't keep doing this every time someone says his name. Why did this happen literally every fucking time?

"Oh, shit. I didn't mean to- It's just hard not to think about it, you know?" Kenny says, feeling guilty.

"Lee saved me." I say softly, recalling the events of Savannah.

Kenny nods, excitedly. "I knew it. I knew he would. That guy had a fire in him, sure as shit. Hell... Lee and I had out differences, that's for sure. But... When my son..." He pauses, swallowing. Kenny's had a hard time too, harder than anyone I knew, I realized. "He helped me do the right thing. I'll never forget that." We share a small moment of silence. "So, where'd you end up?" He asks.

"I found Christa and Omid after Lee." I answer, "But then Omid died and Christa and I were attacked by bandits. That's when we got separated, and how I met those guys."

"Sounds like it ain't been easy for you." Kenny says, trying to comfort me. "I'm sorry, darlin'. I wish I could've found you earlier. But everything is gonna be fine now."

"Christa told me you were dead."

"I am." Kenny says, making his voice sounds ghostly, "This is all a dream."

I lean forward and punch his arm, unamused. "That's not funny!"

He laughs and puts up one of his hands in surrender. "Yeah, okay. Bad joke." He shakes his head, "You know, I tried to save that fuckin' shitbird, Bed. Then it turned into a damn cluster. Couldn't help the kid, but I got out. Long stoty short, I got lucky. Real lucky. Spent a long time alone after that. It, uh..." He closes his eyes and scrunches them like he's in pain, "And then I met Sarita, thank God. Gosh, it's great to have you back. How old are you now? You were, what, fifteen when we lost Lee?"

"I'm eighteen now, not that it matters." I say, shrugging, "But I can legally smoke cigarettes now."

"If you find any let me know." Kenny laughs, "You sure did grow up pretty though. Not as pretty as my Sarita though." He smiles as the woman walked over to us. "Clem, this is my girl, Sarita. Ain't she beautiful?"

The woman smiles at me and I nod, reaching out to shake her hand. We hadn't been properly introduced yet and it was nice to meet the woman who saved Kenny. She was the polar opposite of Katjaa, slender, dark hair, olive skin, with a nose piercing.

"Hey Walt, where's Mathew, still rootin around out there?" Kenny yells.

Walt shrugs, smiling, "Of course he is." He walks to one of the counters where he has a hot burner plugged it. He stirs something in a pot. Sarita approaches Carlos and Sarah, asking her permission to steal Sarah for a "secret mission". Carlos hesitantly agrees, telling Sarah to say within sight. Luke and Nick approach us, looking uncomfortable.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Luke asks. He's obviously asking Kenny, but his eyes are locked onto me. I shift uncomfortably.

Kenny stands up. "Could use a hand outside," He says, "We gotta lotta supplies we need to bring in before that storm hits."

"Sure." Luke says curtly, before he and Nick exit the room. _Awesome, he was mad at me again._

Kenny turns towards me, "Clem, why don't you help Walt with dinner?"

I frown, but don't fight him. I'd be much better outside, doing some heavy lifting, but I was kind of tired. Any other time, I might be offended, but today, I'd really rather just do something easy. I make my way to where Walt stood, stirring whatever it was he had in his pot.

My tummy grumbled smelling the food. I couldn't wait to eat.


End file.
